


Something Rotten

by ShearViscosity



Category: Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), Descendants (2015), The Sword in the Stone (1963)
Genre: Canon with first movie only, Deviates From Canon, Friendship, Gen, Implied Death, Magic School, Main characters have cameos, More realistic take on Auradon, Other Disney characters included, Pied Piper of Hamelin, United States of Auradon (Disney) Is Not Perfect, world building
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-08 15:24:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 33,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11649372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShearViscosity/pseuds/ShearViscosity
Summary: Not all those in Auradon were so eager to give up magic, and not all evil was banished to the Isle. In a small corner of Arendelle exists the Avalon Forest Refuge and Sanctuary, where Merlin has taken in four students with unique magical abilities. When he goes missing, they set off to find him, and discover there's something rotten in the United States of Auradon.





	1. Yo, Intro

Jack sighed, his head leaning against the car window, cold to the touch. He didn't mind the chill, winter was his favorite season after all. Of course, there was also the fact that he was the one responsible for the coolness of the glass.

With his right index finger, he idly traced intricate spirals on the glass, with ice following close behind, sending out tiny branches and offshoots of each curl and spiral. To an outsider, the design might have seemed nothing more than some random squiggle, but Jack knew better. There was order to frost and ice, the way it formed and moved in nature. Only those who spent hours studying the cold substance like Jack had, could see them.

"Beg your pardon, but you shouldn't be doing that your highness, rules and all." Jack glanced up towards his driver, and frowned. With a wave of his hand, his delicate etchings were gone without a trace. Crossing his arm sullenly, he sunk down into his seat, the seat belt cutting into his face due to his new position.

It was his own fault really, he knew that and accepted it—but that didn't mean he had to be happy about his new situation. He just had to show off his abilities to the one girl whose father would overreact to magic. He had barely handed over the ice flower to Laura, before her father, the Duke of Weaselton (who she had thankfully, and most definitely not inherited her looks from) came stomping over and yelling out "Sorcery!"

His powers weren't actually sorcery, but some type of nature magic according to the trolls, inherited from his mother and shared with his sisters. Ever since the United States of Auradon was formed and the villains were banished to the Isle of the Lost, magic, while not explicitly banned, was heavily frowned upon. Even the fairy godmother had hung up her wand.

Queen Elsa of Arendelle, hadn't spent the majority of her life trying to hide her magic, only to find acceptance and learn control to go back to hiding again. However, she wasn't flashy with her magic, not like the fairy godmother had been. Instead she used it quietly, creating a ski resort in the mountains that had fresh snow all year long along with an ice rink. She also exported ice to the hotter states that was specially engineered to last longer in the heat.

That was also the way she had taught her children to use their magic—Jack's older sister Crown Princess Helga, himself, and his younger sister Princess Sonja. His sisters followed their mother's instructions to a 'T', whereas Jack… less so.

He understood where his mother was coming from, he really did, but he just didn't agree with her, or his father who believed the same. Just because some villains had used magic on the heroes, why did that mean he shouldn't? Why should he be punished for their mistakes?

Despite being told countless times not to use his powers around non-Arendellians who had become used to their Queen's magic over the years, he just couldn't resist when Lady Laura of Weaselton, with her big doe brown eyes of hers, asked if he had inherited his mother's magic. Who could say no to those eyes?

Her father could apparently, along with his parents, and Helga, whose eighteenth birthday party he accidentally ruined. Apparently seeing the rose had brought back bad memories for the Duke, and put the uneasy alliance with Weaselton at risk. The Duke was threatening to go to King Adam and Queen Belle—who had the power to strip his parents of their title and lands if any misconduct could be proven, per the terms of the agreement that led to the forming of the United States of Auradon, lest any more evil step-mothers try to go after the thrones. Given the Duke's history with Arendelle, it was more than likely he would use the incident as a way to claim the throne for himself.

Something that was drilled into his head over and over again later that night by his parents. The only way to soothe the Duke's rage was for Queen Elsa and King Marten of Arendelle to make a public demonstration of punishing their son.

At first, the only solution seemed to be to send him away to Auradon Prep where not using magic was stressed. It wasn't a great one, his parents were close to him and his sisters, and couldn't bear to send them away to any place, let alone one that would teach them to conceal their powers.

Just as Jack was starting to think that all was lost, Merlin of all people showed up at the Arendelle palace requesting an audience with his parents. When the United States of Auradon was formed, there were some who didn't take the 'no magic' stance lying down, and Merlin was their loudest voice. However, even the great and powerful Merlin couldn't stand in the way of so-called progress and technology, and eventually disappeared from public life all together. Jack could count on one hand the number of times Merlin had been seen in the past twenty years. Yet here he was, at the Arendelle palace.

So it was only natural for him and his sisters, along with his cousins, Aunt Anna, Uncle Kristoff and Olaf to position themselves close to the room where Merlin and his parents were to hear what the famous reclusive wizard would want with them. To his credit, Uncle Kristoff did try to dissuade them all from doing so, pointing out that Merlin could turn them all into frogs if they were caught, but a quick glare and a hushing motion from his wife shut him up, and he soon joined the rest of his family.

Except his parents knew his family way too well, and only a few minutes later did they open the door, not the least bit surprised by the crowd outside.

"Merlin wishes to speak to Jack, but since the rest of you as hear as well, I suppose you might as well come in," said his mother, with an exasperated look on her face.

Jack nervously entered the room, wiping his sweaty palms against his pants. He was about to meet Merlin, granted not under the best circumstances, but it was still Merlin and he couldn't do it with sweaty palms.

In the past twenty years, many of the states had adopted more modern dress, his parents included, yet Merlin still looked the same as ever in his classic blue robes, blue wizard hat, long white beard, and wooden wand.

"Ah, nice to meet you Prince Jack. I must say, I wish it could be under better circumstances," said Merlin, holding out his hand to shake Jack's.

Jack numbly shook it in his, unable to say anything. He was shaking Merlin's hand, arguably the most powerful magic user alive and probably the only one who hadn't fallen in line like the fairy godmother, and to a certain degree, his parents.

He could hear his father chuckling next to him. "We should have you over more often, usually we can't get Jack to be quiet."

Jack, to his horror, felt his cheeks turning red. Girls blushed, boys didn't, but that didn't stop his cheeks from betraying him. "Dad," he whined, and he only got a wry smile in return, from both of his parents.

Merlin pretended not to notice, and simply stared at Jack silently, with a twinkle of amusement gleaming in his eye, if such a thing was even possible. "Like the majority of Arendelle, I have heard of what occurred last night. Rather than having your parents ship you off to Auradon Prep, I'm here to offer you an alternative—only if you agree of course."

"Okay," replied Jack hesitantly, not sure what the alternative could be. Well there were other schools in Auradon like Sherwood, none were as prestigious or could boast the number of royalty or children of heroes in attendance like Auradon Prep could.

"I'd like you to offer you a spot at the school in the Avalon Forest Refuge and Sanctuary. The school's not a boarding school, but you'd be staying with me and some other students in my cottage near the school grounds. While I do understand this is a big decision, I must inform you that you can't take too long, for summer break is about to end and classes are about to resume."

"I didn't realize that there was a school there," said Jack, unsure of what to make of the offer. The Avalon Forest Refuge and Sanctuary was in the middle of nowhere in the western part of Arendelle, nestled snugly between the Arendelle Mountain Range and the Arendelle Forest, and wasn't too far from the trolls. Jack had seen it before on the map, with one lone road leading towards it. The only people Jack knew of that went to the Refuge were nature lovers, for camping and hiking was the only thing to do there. There was no WiFi, and not even electricity once you left the main highway.

Jack turned to his parents and could see that his parents actually seemed fond of the idea. What were they thinking, sending him to the middle of nowhere? Sure he had screwed up, but surely not bad enough to be shipped off to the woods.

Merlin merely chuckled, clearly amused by his response. "Not many people do. There is a town at the Refuge, so naturally there's a school for the children to attend."

"Don't you think this is a little extreme, Elsa?" said Jack's Aunt Anna, stepping forward to face her sister. "No offense," she added hastily, realizing who she might have just offended.

"None taken," Merlin responded, nonplussed by her remark. Was it even possible for a twinkle in an eye to grow bigger, Jack wondered.

"I know it may seem extreme, Anna, but Jack needs to learn control. Not control like I had to, but he needs to learn when to use his powers and when not to. I'm afraid that Avalon might be the only option."

"Hold on a minute," said his sister, Helga. "He hasn't even said yes yet."

Jack shrugged, trying his best to appear as if he didn't care. "Sure, why not? I mean, it's either there or Auradon Prep, and well, you know how bratty those princesses can be," he said with a smirk directed at his oldest sister.

When they were younger, they were part of what could be best described as a series of royal play dates between all the young princes and princesses of Auradon. That was until there was an incident between Helga and Princess Audrey, and Helga told her parents point-blank if she ever had to spend another minute in the girl's presence, Audrey would find herself as an ice princess, literally. They wouldn't have been surprised to hear such a thing out of the mouths of their two youngest, but to hear it out of their eldest, who shared her mother's calm and easy going personality… well meant that she would actually follow through on her threat if she was that irritated by the girl. Needless to say the play dates ended after that, not that Jack minded.

His sister, rolled her eyes, trying to imitate his blasé attitude, but he knew that she'd miss him just as much as he would her. Not that you would ever manage to get the two siblings to say that aloud. "Please, they'd have you wrap around their little pinkie the second you step on campus."

Jack stuck his tongue out at her, and she did the same, followed soon up by his cousins, which then turned into a game to see who could make the weirdest faces at each other. He honestly couldn't say he was too surprised that Merlin joined in with his family.

His family was royal, true, and some had powers, but he liked to think that they were just as normal and crazy as any other family out there.

Which was probably why it hurt so much to leave the next day. It was silly how he felt, he was going away to school, not leaving forever. Of course, that's no doubt what his grandparents thought on their way to Corona, only to never return again. But that was then, in the past, and this was the present and there now existed the Auradon Coast Guard, and better ships and technology than back in his grandparent's day.

Then he remembered where it was he was going, and suddenly his heart dropped to his feet again. It had time to return to its normal position though due to the fifty hugs he received from his parents, Olaf, his sisters, his parents, Olaf, his aunt and uncle, his parents, Olaf, his cousins, and his parents and Olaf once more. Several times he tried to squirm out from under the heap, he was a teenage boy after all, but he was no match for them.

And then it was over, and he was in the car off to the middle of nowhere all because he wanted to impress Laura. Now he wouldn't be able to see his family again till December, and it didn't matter if he kept his promise to his mother and wrote home every week, he still wouldn't be home.

Jack was unhappy and miserable, and it wasn't because he could no longer doodle on the windows in the car.

* * *

Miguel Ramirez's foot wouldn't stop tapping, no matter how many times he tried to keep it still. Eventually he gave up, figuring that his right foot tapping incessantly was better than the alternative. He was nervous, there was no denying that, and when he was nervous, things tended to happen—things that he couldn't quite control. He had thought that he had gotten better at controlling it, he had managed to go six months without an entire incident.

That record was shattered earlier that morning, and it was over such a stupid thing too. He had finally managed to convince his Aunt Audrey to take him on a tour of Whitmore Industries.

Whitmore Industries, was the primary driving force behind the sudden modernization of Auradon that had taken place over the past twenty years. Responsible for all the new sleek cars, cell phones, internet, and the expanded power grid to keep up with the electrical demand. Other companies had sprung up since, mainly as a result of the Whitmore Industries Invention Competition Convention that was held every year to encourage young inventors to come up with new innovations and ideas.

Miguel's entire family worked for Whitmore Industries, after his Aunt Audrey managed to befriend Preston B. Whitmore, the founder. Miguel was still a little hazy on the exact details, but knew that his aunt had since become the Chief Engineer of the Maintenance and Operations Division, in charge of ensuring the day-to-day operations all ran smoothly, and when problems did arise, they were seen to as fast as possible.

He had various other relatives in management roles as well, and it was his dream to end up working there as well someday. If only he didn't have his pesky little problem. That was how his grandfather viewed, that was how the rest of the Ramirez's viewed it, and that was how he viewed it—a problem.

Ever since he could remember, he could generate electricity. When he was younger he thought it was nothing more than static electricity, and that he was just more prone to it than other people, and that as long as he avoided wearing socks while walking on carpet he'd be fine.

Except it didn't work. His pesky little problem didn't go away. He'd wake up with tiny little bolts dancing all over his arms and legs. When his cousins slept over, they'd joke that they didn't need a nightlight, they had Miguel.

Then there were the times he would go to put something in the microwave, turn on the television, or go to use the computer, and it would start to smoke and frizz out. Even with the discount from Whitmore Industries, he had fried enough electronics in his grandfather's house that he was banned from ever touching one directly. Instead, he had to ask somebody to do something for him, like he was a toddler. He tended to simply avoid them altogether—his older cousins would usually tease him and make him beg for their help, while the rest of his family would merely give him pitying looks.

It was when he was seven, and had just managed to fry his second remote control truck in a week, did his grandfather sit him down and explain the source of his pesky little problem. His mother, Nena, had been a famous boxer. He had grown up knowing that due to all of her trophies and awards strewn about the house. He also had known that his mother died in childbirth, despite all the leaps and bounds in medical science had taken in the last twenty years. To die in childbirth today, was practically unheard of.

What he didn't know of, until that day, was why. Apparently, the Greek God Zeus had seen his mother fighting and became impressed, and started to take an interest in her. One thing led to another (though his grandfather refused to tell him what those things were until he was older) and soon his mother was expecting Miguel. The problem was, that Zeus was married to Hera, and Hera was pissed.

Zeus had a reputation for, as his grandfather put it, 'having a wandering eye', and Hera tolerated it—but barely. When the goddess gave birth to their son and famous hero Hercules, she had made him swear off other women, and he agreed. Until he met Nena Ramirez.

When Hera found out about Miguel, she was angry, and swore revenge. Afraid what she would do, Zeus struck a new deal with Hera—if she let Nena and her son alone, so would he. No contact, no nothing, and Hera agreed.

His mother was heartbroken when Zeus told her of the deal, but knew it was for the best given Hera's history towards Zeus other demigod children. In a way though, Hera did manage to get her revenge. For by forbidding Zeus to have contact with Nena, he was unable to save her during childbirth. Giving birth is hard enough, Miguel's grandfather had explained without going into all the messy details, but giving birth to a god's child was even harder, and as a result Nena had died, and only magic could have saved her.

And that was why Miguel had his pesky little problem and the only thing he could do was to learn how to control it as best as he could. Which was exactly Miguel set out to do—with varying results. He would always manage to go a few months before an incident would happen and he would have to start all over again.

Six months was his record, and he had been so proud of it. His Aunt Audrey had even agreed to take him a tour as a reward, for despite his pesky little problem, he still wanted to end up working there. It was where all the Ramirez's worked, and he wanted to as well, even if it meant a clerical or secretarial position, where he'd be safe and away from anything too big and powerful incase his problem decided to rear its ugly little head.

At least, that was the idea. His aunt had been showing him around the offices of Whitmore Industries, on the upper levels of the Whitmore Building, when his aunt had been pulled aside by a person she worked with and promised to be back in a few minutes.

Miguel took the time looking out the window on Auradon City below him, which was the capital of the United States of Auradon and the center of well, everything. Anybody who wanted to be somebody knew the best hope of doing so was to go to the city, for they had the best of everything—libraries, universities, museums, theater, it was where the palace for the King and Queen of Auradon was, along with the Senate building where the representatives from the states would meet and discuss law and politics.

It was the center of everything, and there he was in the middle of it. Then the whispers had started behind his back.

"Isn't that Nena's son?"

"I heard that there was something wrong with him."

'I heard that they were ashamed of him."

Miguel brushed the whispers off. It wasn't the first time he heard such talk, for even though his family tried their best to shelter him from gossip, it still managed to reach his ears at school and out in public. He couldn't risk ruining his six month steak, so he tried to focus on other things. Like watching as traffic moved on the street below him, the people no bigger than the size of dots to the human eye. Or focusing on the stain on the carpet beneath him and his rubber insulated shoes, probably from some spilled coffee or other such drink.

Then the whispers took on a crueler tone, one which he couldn't ignore no matter how hard he tried.

"Oh yeah? Well I heard that they don't even know who his father is, that his mother would spread her legs for anyone."

"Can't say I'm surprised. What do you expect of a woman who acted like a man for a living?"

Something inside of Miguel snapped at those words. They could insult him and his pesky little problem all they wanted, but how dared they insult his dead mother. Even his older cousins who'd tease him incessantly, would never dare to bring her up.

Something outside snapped as well. At first, Miguel thought the hissing and crackling was in his head, but then he smelled smoked. Turning around revealed row after row of computers smoking, with befuddled workers in front of them, wondering what had just happened. They then turned their eyes to him, understanding lighting up in their eyes.

Before they could say anything though, the sprinklers went on dousing everything in water as they detected the smoke, and causing many of the women and some of the men to shriek in surprise as they were drenched in cold water. That was followed up with the lights shutting off, and the emergency lights failing to turn on.

As Miguel would later find out, the computers that he had fried to a crisp were the ones responsible for controlling the transformers and generators that powered the city. By overloading them, he overloaded the system, and managed to create a massive blackout for the city and several of the surrounding states.

All of this was explain to him in the office of the Whitmore Industries CEO Godric Goldschmidt, who had taken over after Preston's death years ago. His aunt had been offered the position by the Board of Trustees, but she had turned it down.

His aunt wasn't there as she was off trying to get everything back online, but his grandfather was there, simply shaking his head and sighing. Miguel had never felt worse in his life. Because of him and his problem, the entire city and surrounding states were under martial law. The police were busy trying to direct traffic, firefighters were busy trying to rescue people trapped in elevators, the King and Queen were busy directing everything, and the newspapers were busy dragging their old printing presses out of storage which didn't rely on electricity to work to provide the public with some sort of news and updates.

And it was all Miguel's fault, something Godric seemed intent on reminding him of, which was true. Usually his problem only affected small things, never before had it done something so terrible, something so wide scaled. Then again, it had never before had access.

When Godric started to mention the possibility of having to send Miguel to the Isle of the Lost—for what else would the King and Queen demand upon hearing the source of the blackout and the chaos that had fallen upon Auradon—Miguel found himself silently agreeing despite his grandfather's vocal protests. Maybe the Isle of the Lost was for the best, with the magical barrier surrounding the island and canceling out magic, he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone or anything anymore. How many people could die today because he couldn't keep his power under control? How many more would die if he were allowed to continue to be free? And wouldn't objecting just prove what a selfish evil person he was anyway, thereby proving his true place was on the Isle?

Right before Miguel was about to agree to the Isle of the Lost, the doors slammed open, and a little figure came marching in. Miguel had to blink his eyes several times and do a double take. Judging by the open mouths on the faces of his grandfather (which was still noticeably red due to him having to climb the stairs all the way up since the elevator was out of commission) and Godric, Miguel was right in his assumption of who the man was.

Merlin, the greatest and most powerful wizard was standing before him, a man who he had always thought was nothing more than a fairy tale from the books his grandfather had read to him when he was younger. What was he doing here? Was he here to take him away to the Isle of the Lost?

His grandfather and Godric seemed to flabbergasted to speak, so Miguel did so, voicing his thoughts aloud. "Are you hear to take me to the Isle of the Lost?"

"Of course not, boy," laughed Merlin, "whatever made you think you belonged in such a place? No, I'm here to offer you an education."

"An education?" asked his grandfather, who had managed to find his voice again.

"Oh yes. There's a school I teach at that I think your grandson would benefit from greatly. He'd learn science, English, history, math, and how to use his magic properly," replied Merlin.

For the first time since the incident happened, Miguel felt the smallest bit of hope growing inside of him, though he didn't let it show on his face in fear of it being quashed as quickly as it showed up. Merlin was going to teach him how to control his magic. Oh why hadn't he thought of such a thing before? Maybe Merlin could even rid him of his magic completely.

"Can I go?" Miguel asked his grandfather, trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible.

His grandfather turned to look at Godric. "Well that depends on Mr. Goldschmidt here."

The man sighed, and massaged his forehead with his hands, trying to no doubt keep at bay the headache that was slowly forming due to the events of the day. "Fine. I'll tell the King and Queen that it was due to a computer error and that the employees who witnessed it will keep their mouths shut. But you're not allowed back on Whitmore Industries property until you get your powers under control. Is that understood?"

Miguel nodded his head enthusiastically. "Oh yes, sir."

"Yes," agreed his grandfather, "thank you for giving my grandson a second chance."

"Manuel," said the CEO, "you and your family have been such a big part of Whitmore Industries for such a long time, it's the least I can do for you."

Merlin then spoke up. "Well that's settled. I believe that the only thing to do now is pack young man."

So here he was, tapping his foot nervously, with his bag packed and ready to go next to him, waiting for Merlin to finish up with talking with his grandfather.

He couldn't wait for what came next.

* * *

Maddie ran from room to room in Discipline cottage, making sure that everything was in order. It wouldn't be long before Merlin would return with her new roommates, and while Merlin wouldn't mind the mess, her new roommates might. The mountain of books was mostly contained to Merlin's study off of the main room on the first floor along with his experiments and toys (she called them toys, but Merlin insisted that they were artifacts and collectibles). The dishes had been washed and were put away in the cupboards, there were fresh sheets on the beds, including the three new ones Merlin had ordered, and the broom, mop, and duster were seeing to the rest of Discipline.

For the first time that day, Maddie allowed herself to plop down into the couch in the main room and relax. Okay, so she wasn't really relaxing, she was actually fluffing the pillows in order to keep herself busy and trying to occupy her time before her new roommates showed up. She still didn't know quite how she felt about having new roommates.

For the longest time it was just her and Merlin in Discipline, which admittedly, was probably a bit big for two people. It was located right next to the grounds of the Avalon Education Institute. Maddie always thought the name sounded a bit too fancy, but Merlin had insisted that while the school did teach children, it was open to those all of ages who wanted an education and to improve their lives, so therefore the name perfectly represented the Institute's mission. Maddie silently thought he was still miffed over his first suggestion, 'Merlin's Center for Learning and Education' was shot down, so he took any attack on his second choice as a personal insult. On one occasion or two, Maddie might have deliberately made a remark about the name to get under his skin, but in all fairness, it was just too easy and too much fun.

The cottage itself had one large main room on the first floor, which had a wood burning stove, sink with a pump, an ice box, and cupboards that counted as the kitchen. There was a large wooden table off the kitchen, with long wooden benches that came in handy when company came to visit—be they fellow teachers, magic users, students, or the occasional person passing through town that Merlin found interesting enough to invite for dinner.

Near the front door of the main room, was a couch and several chairs arranged in a U, along with bookcases that were packed so tightly, Maddie had to use magic rather than her hands to get a book out. There was also a fireplace, that wasn't very grand, but did a great job of keeping Discipline warm in the winter.

There was a door on the right, that led to the small room off of the main room, that was Merlin's study, and which was now doubling as his bedroom, magically enlarged to account for the additional furniture in an already crowded space. To the left was a door that led to the washroom, where there was a tub with a pump for water, a washbasin for the laundry, along with the privy. Avalon may not have had any modern conveniences, but Merlin had insisted on some version of indoor plumbing rather than an outhouse. The spells used were still too advance for Maddie to understand, but she did appreciate having it inside in the winter rather than having to go outside, or dealing with the stink.

Up the stairs, there was a balcony that overlooked the main room, along with two bedrooms which each now had two beds and two wardrobes a piece. There was Maddie's, but there was also Merlin's old room, which now was going to house her new roommates.

There was a door off the kitchen which led to a small garden and pond outside. The garden grew vegetables and herbs that they cooked with, along with plants that had certain magical properties that were valued in potions and salves.

All in all, Discipline Cottage was a nice place to live and had been home to Maddie and Merlin for many years, and soon would home to a few others. According to Merlin, there were several new students who would be attending the Institute, and they would need a place to stay. While other townspeople would have taken them inn, he stressed that they needed Discipline just as Maddie had all those years ago when he had taken her in, and who could really argue with that?

So Maddie held her tongue and promised to make sure to help them with fitting in. So far from what Merlin had told her, her new roommates would include two boys—one of which was the Prince of Arendelle.

The prince was supposed to be arriving by car that evening, with Merlin going to pick up the other boy, promising to back in time for dinner. Merlin could be absent minded occasionally, but he was never wrong about when he would be home. In all the years she had been under his care, he always came back when he said he would.

In order to kill time, Maddie summoned a book from one of the bookshelves, one that she had read so many times she didn't really need to focus on it while she read it. Basic Wards for Beginners was for beginning magic users who had never used wards before. It was one of the first books Maddie had ever read, and one that she knew by heart. Wards could be used for many things when it came to magic—as a way to keep powerful magic in if it was uncontrollable, as a way to keep magic out if a work was being performed that couldn't have any outside interference, as shields to keep one inside safe, or as warnings or alarms, like the ones currently going off in the cottage.

They weren't that loud, which simply meant that somebody other than Maddie or Merlin had entered past the property line, but weren't a threat. Another one went off, this time indicating that at least one of them had some sort of magical ability. Maddie canceled the alarms, and went out the door to greet what could only be the prince.

Outside the door and down the paved stone path on the dirt road was a car. It was sleek and black, and while not a limo still looked rather pricey to Maddie though her experience with automobiles was limited. The driver exited, and walked over to the back right side—the side facing Maddie—and opened the door, letting out the prince, who in his jeans and blue hoodie didn't look the least bit princely.

He looked at Maddie for a second before blurting out, "Your hair's pink."

"And your hair's blonde," responded Maddie in a flat tone, as if she had just pointed out the sky was blue or the grass was green. Yes, her hair was pink, (a result of using a potion when she was younger and not reading the label) but the prince supposedly had magic and grown up in a magical family, so why was he acting like pink hair was a big deal? If he had an issue with her hair color, he wouldn't last long in Avalon.

The driver pulled the prince's bags out of the trunk and asked, "What should I do with these?"

"Just put them down there, I'll take care of them," replied Maddie, and pointed to the ground.

Perplexed expressions crossed the faces of the prince and his driver who had both been expecting to be shown to the prince's room to set them down, and not on the ground. The driver shrugged, and did as Maddie instructed. "Alright, if you say so. Now, your highness, I'll be seeing you in December when I'm to pick you up to return home for the holidays, and not a day before then."

After the driver and the car were gone, the prince turned to Maddie and held out a hand. "I don't believe we've been introduced. I'm Jack, by the way."

Maddie shook his hand. "Nice to meet you Jack, by-the-way. I'm Maddie, and if you want I could take care of your bags."

Jack opened his mouth to protest—he may have been a prince but he couldn't let a girl carry his bags—but the words never make it out his mouth, which does stay open.

With a wave of her left hand, Maddie opened the door to the cottage—without touching the knob. Then, she waved her hands over his luggage, causing them to start to jiggle. "Go up the stairs, and then into the second room on the right." With a final wave, she sent his luggage off, and toward the cottage jiggling all the way.

"But… that's… how?" said Jack, as he struggled to find the words to express his disbelief.

For Maddie though, she was starting to understand why the prince had been so shocked by her hair. "Jack, where exactly did you think you were going?"

"To the Avalon Wildlife Refuge and Sanctuary to go to school and live with Merlin."

"Right," said Maddie in an effort to prod his brain along and process the information. "And what exactly did you think that would entail?"

"I don't know," said jack, running his hands through his hair, "that I would be camping in the middle of the woods with Merlin while things cooled off back home—no pun intended."

Camping in the middle of the woods? What exactly had Merlin told him? Maddie took in a deep breath, and prepared herself for her first impromptu teaching lesson. Knowing Merlin, it was quite possible he planned this and had set her up.

"The Avalon Wildlife Refuge and Sanctuary was founded twenty years ago, right after the Isle of the Lost was formed, and magic was being discouraged. Merlin, along with other magical users who were against it, decided that those with magic, along with non-humans would need somewhere safe to live their lives. They approached your parents—seeing as your mother was a magic user herself—about setting up a wildlife refuge and sanctuary in Avalon, which already had a small magical community."

Maddie paused, letting Jack take a moment to digest the information she had just told him. "But they never told me, I mean, nobody ever said anything…"

"Well of course they didn't, can you imagine what would happen if the public found out that magic was still being practiced and taught?" Seeing the dejected look on Jack's face, she added, "I'm sure your parents were planning on telling you eventually, once you were older."

That didn't seem to offer him any comfort though, if anything he was more frustrated and looked like a child about to throw a tantrum. Maddie did what she would normally do when she saw a child about to throw a tantrum—create a distraction. "I need to go in and start dinner, but I can make it with magic if you want to see more."

It seemed to do the trick, gone was the look of hurt and frustration at his parents, and its place was a look of incredulous. "You make dinner with magic?"

"Not always," said Maddie with a shrug, "I mean, you have to know how to cook a certain meal before you can order the dishes to do it for you. You can't just go and tell them 'cook me a steak' if you yourself don't know that recipe. Have you ever told your magic to do something without having a pattern for something for it to follow?"

"Usually I just visualize what I want my magic to do, and it does it."

"Yeah, but you know what you want your magic to do, and your magic can work off that knowledge," pointed out Maddie.

"You do realize, none of that makes any sense to me," replied Jack.

"Yeah, but that's why you're here, to learn."

Maddie then led the way into Discipline cottage, with Jack following close behind her like that of a duckling following its mother. She pretended not to notice his eyes bugging out as he took in the cottage.

"It's nice," he said, while she got out the pot for dinner, along with the food. "Wait, I thought you were going to use magic."

"Don't worry, I am. I'm just getting out the supplies. Merlin believes that magic should be used, but also that we shouldn't be completely reliant on it, and still should do things by hand occasionally," she explained.

"Merlin surely believes in a lot of things. Where's the old geezer anyway?"

"Right behind you," said a voice from behind, causing Jack to jump into the air and Maddie to laugh. "I apologize for not being here for your arrival, but I had to go pick up Miguel here." The wards had gone off as well, indicating that somebody else with powers had arrived on the property besides Merlin (which may have also contributed to Jack's shock), and were just as quickly shut off.

Miguel's face was green, clashing against his dark brown skin. Jack was confused by the sight of the large muscular boy who was doubled over clutching his stomach, while Maddie could only look on with a sympathetic expression on her face. She knew first hand had discombobulating teleporting for the first time could be. There was a reason she didn't plan on mastering that skill until she was older.

"I see that he wasn't the only who didn't a get a warning about magic," she said while directing the knives to chop up the onions, tomatoes, and carrots for the stew she was making for dinner. Miguel sat down at the table hoping his stomach would calm down. Jack sat down next to him, pretending to be more interested in the magic cooking the dinner than the discussion that was occurring between Maddie and Merlin.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about Maddie."

Maddie directed another knife to slice the loaf of bread on the counter and apply butter to it, before it would go into the oven. While she was busy directing the dishes, she also responded to Merlin. "Oh, I don't know, the fact that you failed to tell Jack about the exact nature of the Refuge?"

"Ah, must have slipped my mind. You know how old this geezer is." Jack winced at the comment.

Maddie motioned for the wooden spoon to stir the ingredients in the pot. "For an old guy, I recall you being pretty spry last week when Fauna was trying to get you alone to herself."

"Well, that's quite different you see—" a shrill alarm interrupted Merlin, and cut off whatever you was about to say. Merlin pulled out a pocket watch from his robe, and opened it. "Maddie, don't forget to set for five people."

"Typical," replied Maddie, bringing up the spoon to her mouth to taste it, "But I remembered five when you told me last week, and five when you told me this morning, so naturally I'll only set four places out."

"Five?" asked Jack. "But there's only four of us."

"Four now," agreed Merlin, "but I'm off to get the fifth. I'll be back in time for dinner, and don't think I'll have forgotten your attitude."

"Well don't think I'll have forgotten about Fauna's little crush on you, and you running like a scared little girl every time she approaches you," retorted Maddie.

Both Jack and Miguel wanted to laugh at the exchange, but refrained from doing so, afraid of what the great and powerful wizard might do to them.

After Merlin left, Miguel turned to Maddie who had sat down at the table with the boys, satisfied that her magic could handle the rest of the meal. "Who's the fifth?"

"No idea. But if Merlin says somebody else is joining us for dinner, than somebody else is joining us for dinner."

"But what if he's late?" argued Jack.

"He won't be. If he says he'll be back in time for dinner, then he will be. He might be a bit scattered brain sometimes," or manipulative, Maddie thought to herself, thinking of his omission with Jack, "but you can always count on him when you need him."

* * *

Julie Sherman shivered in the cool August air. Summer may not have been over, but fall was well on its way. Julie didn't even have a jacket to protect her from the chill, and lighting a fire was not an option.

Instead, she continued to trudge forward in the woods, ignoring the chill in the air, the rumble of hunger in her stomach that had become a constant and nagging companion, and her feet which were begging for her to stop. It was a full moon that night, giving her enough light to go as far as she wanted and allowing her to rest during the day when it'd be safer to be asleep in the woods, and out of sight from any humans who might be passing through.

A branch scraped her cheek, but she had become so accustomed to being poked and prodded by limbs, twigs and branches over the past few weeks, it didn't matter anymore. She didn't need to look in a mirror to know that her brown hair most likely resembled that of a bird's nest.

Julie didn't have a particular destination in mind, just that it would be as far away as possible from Hamelin, the small village she had lived for all her life in Corona. At least she had, until a few weeks ago. Though, if Julie was honest, things had truly gone downhill a few months before then.

Her family was the prestigious Sherman family, known throughout Corona and even several states as for their music. Family lore had it, several generations ago, Frank Sherman was an aspiring musician who came across a member of the fey one night during the full moon. He managed to impress them with his music, and so they bestowed upon him and his descendants a blessing, one that would ensure their music would be even more magical than it had that night.

Frank's music was even more wonderful and beautiful than it had been that night, but it wasn't long before he discovered certain side effects. People around him would start bursting into songs, and dancing despite having no prior experience. It was confined to princes, princesses, heroes, and powerful villains mainly, and whoever had the misfortune to be around them when the song struck. They never lasted very long, and some even became well-known throughout the land.

Worried that it was dangerous, Frank tracked down the most famous wizard of all time, Merlin. Merlin assured him there was no harm meant by the gift, and someday breaking into song would be an everyday occurrence. Himself and his descendants though, would be immune. Furthermore, what was wrong with a little music in one's life?

His fears put at ease, he soon settled down in the town of Hamelin, where he was paid quite well by the mayor for entertaining the town, as well as bringing in a great deal of tourism. It wasn't long before he built Sherman Hall on top of Hamelin Hill, overlooking the Weser River.

It was where Julie had been born and lived in with her family. The Hall, as it was simply called, had been built from the many trees that dotted the land. It had large glass windows full of stain glass which would twinkle and cast colorful shadows as the light hit it just the right way. There was a huge library, a greenhouse, and every instrument ever made, from lands Julie had never heard of. The prize of the Hall was the concert room which had been specially designed to have the best acoustics possible. The Sherman's would tell any and all who visited that if you stood on side of the room, you could hear somebody drop a pin on the other side as if they were standing right next to you. Then to their guests' further astonishment, they would go on to prove their claim with an actual demonstration.

The one downside, was the Hall didn't keep up with all the innovations in technology like the rest of Hamelin and Corona had. The current mayor cited it'd be too expensive to build the needed infrastructure for electricity, water, and sewage all the way out to and up the hill for one building. If the Hall wanted modern conveniences so badly, then the Sherman's could use their family money to build it themselves. Being told that by the mayor didn't sit well with the Sherman's, especially the current head of the family, Julie's grandfather Richard. They saw it as something the city should provide for its citizens, not the other way around.

Julie didn't mind too much. While electricity and plumbing might have made things like doing laundry easier (after all, there were twenty people living in the Hall) what the Hall lacked was outweighed by what the Hall had—music and her family.

All that changed one terrible June night. It hadn't started out as terrible. Quite the contrary, it had started out as rather pleasant and magical. Julie's older brother, Alan, had convinced her to sneak out for the night to watch as a comet passed the earth. The comet only did so once every seventy-five years, and Alan didn't want to miss it—even if it meant being out pass curfew. With the Hall perched atop the hill, far from the twinkling multitude of lights down in Hamelin, it offered the perfect position to watch the show.

Alan was older than Julie by three years, and was her best friend in the whole world. She had a plethora of cousins, and friends that she went to school with in Hamelin, but Alan was the one she'd run to whenever she had a problem, or confided her secrets in. He may have been nearly an adult, but he never acted like she was a pain or a hassle, like some brothers did. She had seen her cousin Robert tease his little sister Kristen a few times, but Alan never acted that way towards her. He never belittled her, treating each worry and care as if it was a serious matter—including the time when she was eight and Robert had convinced her that her toys came alive when she wasn't around.

When Alan had asked her to join him that night, she had agreed without a second though. The stars were clear and crisp, sparkling above her head. She and Alan were lying down on a blanket looking up at the inky sky above them and waiting for the comet to arrive.

"Long ago it was believed that comets were bad omens, signs of death, disasters or political unrest," he had explained to her. "Now we know they're nothing more than icy rocks that are heated up by the sun causing their tail to appear in the sky."

"Wow," said Julie, her eyes busy scanning for the slightest sign of it. She did find the ancient beliefs interesting, but it was hard to dismiss them like Alan had when their family had magic, but she didn't want to hurt her brother's feelings.

Alan jolted up, suddenly. "Look there it is!" he said and pointed to where it was crossing the sky above them.

Julie followed it with her eyes until it disappeared from view; neither of the two siblings daring to say a word lest they somehow disturb the moment. "That sure was bright," Julie said at last, once the comet had past.

Her brother had silently nodded, before sniffing the air. Puzzled, Julie sniffed it too, and found that the lungful she had breathed in was full of smoke. Behind them the Hall was ablaze, glowing brightly against the night sky with such a ferocity that the comet's tail would have been ashamed.

Julie ran screaming to the Hall, but her brother stopped her and pulled her back in his arms. "If you were to go in now, you'd die."

"But Mom, and Dad…" she sobbed, and big fat tears rolled down her cheeks caused partly by the smoke, and partly by her heart breaking into two at the thought of losing her family.

Her brother shushed her. "By now, the whole town knows about the fire. The firetrucks should be arriving soon, and I'm sure that our family's getting out, we just can't see them yet. Come on, let's get away from the smoke." Alan led her away, and she managed to see tears welling up in his eyes and knew that they weren't caused by the smoke.

True to his word, the Hamelin fire department showed up soon after, along with the majority of the town. They didn't bring any good news with them. According to the head firefighter, their trucks didn't have enough water in them to fight the fire, and there were no hydrants nearby to use, and because the Hall was made out of wood and already completely engulfed, there was really no point in trying to fight the fire.

Alan argued with him, insisting that they had to try something, it was their job after all. Even with the entire town forming a bucket brigade, there was no saving the Hall. By morning, the once glorious building was nothing more than a smoldering tomb.

The mayor offered to take them in seeing as all of their relatives died in the fire. He promised a full investigation to find the source of the fire, but nothing conclusive could be proved.

In the meantime, Julie grieved. She grieved for her parents, Randy and Mary Sherman, her grandpa Richard, her Uncle Terry and Aunt Ilene, and even her cousins Robert and Kristen. There was her youngest cousin, Adriana who had just managed to learn her scales and had been so proud, Adriana's parents Uncle John, who could always make her laugh, and Aunt Sammy, who made the best pies. She grieved for the loss of the antique piano she had been taught to play, the Stradivarius that had been her birthday gift, the large drums that her Uncle Terry had brought back from Hawaii.

And they were all gone, lost forever in a fire. Maybe the ancients were on to something when they saw comets as harbingers of doom.

After a few days of grieving, the mayor's wife, a rather tall and thin woman who reminded Julie of a giraffe, pulled her aside and told her to stop it at once. "Tears are useless," she said in a nasally voice, "Here's a list of chores for you to do. My husband and I took you and your brother in out of the kindness of our hearts, it's the least you can do to repay us."

Julie took the list and set off to complete it. Sweep the floors, vacuum the carpets, wash the windows, change the sheets, clean the toilets. She did it all. She was just so numb from the loss of her family, she'd welcome any distraction. It didn't help that Alan wasn't around. The one person she was closest to in the world, and the only surviving member of her family, was always gone. He'd wake up before her and slip out, only to return after exhaustion had set in, no matter how late Julie tried to stay up.

The mayor's wife noticed her brother's absence and would constantly badger her about where her 'no-count-useless-lazy-good-for-nothing' brother was, and each time Julie would reply by saying she didn't know. The mayor's wife would then harrumph, and proceed to tell her that she was nothing more than some useless girl with a useless brother, and wouldn't she hear it when the mayor got home that evening. Once home, he too would berate her, along with the two children of the mayor and his wife who reminded Julie more of gumballs due to their large roundness rather than actual children.

It was June 26, the next time she had an actual conversation with her brother. It would also be her last. Julie had been out tending the garden of the house, when her brother came up the walk. He had to do a double take as he walked by her.

"Julie? Is that you?" he asked, and pulled her to her feet. "Look at you, they're working you worse than Cinderella."

"I don't mind," she said quietly, trying her best to wipe the dirt of her clothes. The similarity to Cinderella had never occurred to her, and now that Alan had pointed it out, she wanted to distance herself from the comparison. It wasn't working very well.

"Well you should, especially considering what else they've done to our family," he replied.

"At least they talk to me," muttered Julie, and turned her back on her brother, not feeling in the mood to chat.

Her brother was hurt by her words, but didn't give up. He pulled her by her arm. "I'm sorry for the way I've been acting, but I promise, I had a good reason."

Now that Julie was closer to her brother, she could see that whatever her brother had been busy off doing, it wasn't very healthy. He looked just as dirty and grungy as she did, and there were dark bags under his eyes. "Alan, what's going on?"

Mere moments ago his eyes had look tired and worn, but suddenly there was a spark to them, one that had never been there before, not even when their family was alive. "You know how the mayor has been going on for years about there not being enough to build out to the Hall? It was nothing by lies! The King and Queen of Auradon set up a special grant cities and towns could apply for to help modernize rural areas, and the mayor got one for the Hall. But instead of using it for the Hall, he pocketed it for himself."

"How—" but Julie was cut off before she could ask her question.

"And that's not all," he said vehemently, "the only reason he took us in was because all the Sherman family money went to us. As soon as the lawyers work out the details, he'll get control of it, in our name."

Julie could feel her blood start to boil. Her parents didn't have to die. Her family didn't have to die. The fire may have happened, but her family could have been saved if it hadn't been for greed.

Alan saw her expression, and a wide smile broke out across his face. "I know! That's why I've come up with a plan for revenge!"

The blood pounding in her ears started to lessen, with his words. Revenge? Alan had never been one for revenge before. "Come on Julie, don't give me that look. Because of the mayor, our family is dead, and surely you know how the story goes when two orphans have a rich and greedy caretaker."

That caused Julie to cease whatever lecture she had been about to launch into. She did know how those stories went, and they very rarely ended happily for the orphans. "What are you going to do Alan?"

He smiled at her enthusiasm. "Let's just say that Merlin failed to mention some things when he told old Frank what he could do."

A puzzled expression crossed Julie's face. Alan pulled out a pipe from his back pocket. Julie didn't know where he got it from, and didn't ask, instead she just watched as he pulled it out and started to play a familiar tune, one that the Corona Army used to signal for its soldiers to get in formation.

She had to suppress a shriek as something small and furry crawled over her left foot. A rat had crawled over her, and stopped at Alan's feet. It was soon joined by others, all coming to a stop at Alan's feet. They had their little heads in the air and tiny paws up and hunched over on their back paws. Julie wouldn't call them cute or adorable, by seeing them all in formation like little shoulders was a bit endearing.

The mood was broken when Alan's tune changed slightly, with a more upbeat tone. The rats started to march together, then just as quickly started to perform country jigs with one another. It would have been rather impressive feat if watched under other circumstances, but now was making Julie feel queasy. There was no way the rats had been trained to dance and line up, but had to be doing it against their will. Julie may have greatly disliked the creatures, but they didn't deserve this.

"Stop Alan," she cried, trying to pull the pipe away from her brother. He had several inches on her, and managed to hold her off though.

"Alright, calm down Julie, it was just a demonstration," he said. The second he stopped playing, the rats paused, and then went scattered back to the shadows they had come from.

"Demonstration for what?" demanded Julie, knowing she wouldn't like the answer, but curious just the same.

"This." Alan put the pipe to her his lips once more, and played. The military tune he played was the same, but it had a slower tempo, causing it to have a more dreamlike quality. Julie looked around to see what animals would appear suddenly, but instead only saw the gumball twins marching out the door of the mayor's wife. One was in mid-lick of a lollipop and the other had what appeared to be icing smeared across his face.

Alan took off down the street, with the gumball twins close behind him. Other children soon joined them. Kids riding bicycles changed directions suddenly to ride behind Alan. Children abandoned the toys they had been playing with, or whatever activity they had been in the middle of to follow Alan obediently. She even saw one baby crawling along behind him.

Julie waved her hand in front of one boy's face, one she knew from school, and he continued on right past her, pushing her to the side. She tried to tug on a girl's arm, and she just continued on, dragging Julie with her.

"Alan, what's going on?" she yelled, but he didn't answer her for he was too busy playing the pipe. Julie looked around for an adult to ask for help, but saw that they were all under a similar trance to that of the children. Instead of following in line behind Alan, they stood off to the side unable to move or offer Julie any assistance.

The children continued to follow Alan, and Julie had no choice but to do so as well. She followed him out of the cul-de-sac where the mayor lived, out onto Main Street. He walked past City Hall, the library, the ice cream parlor, and down in the direction of the Wesser waterfront.

A feeling of dread filled her as she realized what her brother was about to do. She picked up steam and made a move to snatch the pipe out of his hands, but one of the gumball twins got in her way and blocked her. Without missing a beat, Alan picked up the beat slightly, and Julie felt something rough grab her wrists.

Looking down she saw the branches of a nearby willow tree had acted as impromptu handcuffs. She pulled against her restraints, and dug her feet into the ground, but she couldn't get free.

"Stop Alan!" she screamed, choking back on tears and snot. He did stop, right in front of the pier. The children didn't though. They marched right onto it, and then right off of it and into the Wesser River. Julie couldn't take it, she closed her eyes and continued to scream for Alan to stop. She knew that he wouldn't but it drowned out the plopping sound as each child walked off of the pier and landed in the water.

Eventually she felt her restraints slacken. She fell to her knees, and finally opened her eyes. The children were gone, and Alan was standing before her.

"It had to be done, they had to pay. They took what was precious to us, so we took what was precious to them," he said flatly, not a trace of remorse in his voice.

Julie got up on her feet. "Not like this," she croaked out. "They had to pay, but not like this. And I thought you were just after the mayor, why involve the other children too?"

"Because their parents were just as involved as the mayor was!" he snarled at her. "The mayor gave the order for the fire department to take their time arriving to the Hall and to not try to put out the fire. He threatened to cut their budget, and they were too afraid to speak up to him. The only people who weren't afraid of the mayor was our family and they're dead now!"

Tears were streaming down Julie's face, and she wiped them away with her arm, no longer caring about the dirt on it. "And killing the children won't bring them back!" Julie pushed her brother away from her. "I don't know who you are, but you're not my brother anymore." For once, her words seemed to have some affect, because his eyes softened.

He blinked a few times at her and then looked down at the pipe in his hand. "What have I done?" he whispered so quietly, Julie could barely make out the words. He then clutched the pipe tightly in his right hand, and chucked it out into the river.

"Julie," he said and gripped her shoulders tightly.

"Let go of me," she cried, and started to squirm to get free out of his grasp, and tried to kick his shins. If she landed a blow, he didn't let it show.

He shook her, causing her to stop. "Julie, listen to me. I need you to run. Run far from Hamelin and don't get caught. You hear me, don't get caught."

Julie's eyes widened, but then understanding dawned on her. All of the children in the village were dead, called away from their parents by magical music. She'd be lucky if she and her brother were only sent away to the Isle of the Lost.

She nodded, letting him know she understand. "And what about you?"

"Don't away about me, I promise I'll be free. Now run."

Not knowing whether or not she wanted her brother to be caught or not, Julie took off running. She ran down the street, over the Wesser River Bridge, and out into the woods. She didn't stop until she had a stitch in her side and rested for several hours before continuing on.

She didn't know where she was going, just that it had to be away from Hamelin. One night she snuck into a barn to sleep, and found a day-old newspaper that had been tossed aside. Reading it she discovered that her brother had a different definition of freedom than she did. He, along with the bodies of 130 children had been pulled from the river. Julie was listed as a suspect who was considered 'extremely dangerous and should be approached with caution'.

Not wanting to stick around to tell her tale, Julie continued on in the woods. She lived off of berries she managed to find that she knew were safe to eat because of what Alan had once taught her. She avoided strange noises and growls, going in the opposite direction.

While it couldn't be called much of an existence, it did become her new normal. Concentrating on living through the next day without getting caught proved to be useful distraction from the pain and grief over her brother's actions and his loss. She didn't agree with what he had done, she abhorred it, but she took consolation that he seemed to regret what he did at the end. He just took the grief over their family's death out on the wrong people.

June turned into July, which turned into August, and August was quickly on the way out. Julie continued on, eventually reaching a fork in the dirt road she was following. It had once been used as a foot path between towns, but had fallen into disrepair when the highways had been built. They were wider than the dirt paths that dotted the woods and towns.

Julie choose to go left, but found that there was a prickly bush not far down it she had missed somehow in the dark. She backtracked, and went down the right path only to find another obstacle blocking her.

It was a man, a rather old one from the look of him. He had a pocket watch in his hand, and looked down at it and then to her. "Right on time," he said, closely it with a loud snap. "Now we can't have you arriving to dinner like that."

Julie was so in shock at seeing a person for the first time in weeks—no, months—she could only stand there frozen like a deer in headlights. And he was talking about inviting her to dinner. Was he going to eat her? Was he some crazy old man who lived in the woods, waiting for unsuspecting people to come along and cook them?

He then waved a stick at her and mumbled some nonsense words that she couldn't make out. She felt the dirt and grime covering her disappear as if she had just had a bath. The scrapes on her arms healed and vanished as well, and her ragged clothes returned to the pristine condition they had been in when the mayor's wife had bought them before she gave them to Julie. She ran her fingers through her hair, found that it was soft, and smooth, no twigs or leaves to be felt anywhere.

She suddenly looked at the old man in a new light. Long beard, wooden wand… Her hand flew up to her mouth as she gasped, "Merlin!"

"The one and only, at your service," he said, and tipped his hat in her direction. "That spell will last you until after dinner, at which point you'll have to bathe and get a new set of clothes that Maddie's prepared for you."

Julie continued to stare at him in shock. Should she run? Could she manage to run before he caught her? Then again, he had just performed magic on her that was most definitely not meant to capture a person, so why did he do that if he just planned to send her to the Isle? Unless his plan was to leave her speechless, in which case it was working.

"Ah, I see you have many questions, and I have some of my own. Why don't we answer them on the way back to the cottage?" He held out his arm to her, and she found herself taking it without meaning to.

What had she just got herself into?

* * *

Dinner was over, and Maddie had shooed the dishes over to the sink where they were currently replicating an assembly line in an effort to be washed. Dinner had been a rather silent matter once Merlin arrived with the fifth guest who only said her first name and was silent for the rest of the dinner. The boys followed her example, and Maddie wasn't going to be the first to break the awkward silence beyond the occasional mumble of "Pass the bread," or "Hand me the salt". The sun had long since set, leaving the cottage to be lit up by bewitched globes floating throughout the place, created by a spell of Merlin's that Maddie had come across long ago.

It wasn't much of a surprise when it was Merlin who spoke the first actual conversation of the group. "I'd like to welcome our newest members to Discipline Cottage." Seeing the shocked and outraged looks on three faces, he turned to Maddie and asked, "Didn't you tell them?"

"Must have slipped my mind," she replied with an innocent smile on her face.

Merlin sighed, but proceeded to explain. "It's the sort of discipline you're no doubt thinking of. Discipline as in the meaning of structure, training, and commitment, not in the sense of punishment." The panicked and stricken looks were quickly replaced with those of relief, along with curiosity. Seeing that he had their attention, he continued on with his planned speech. "Some of you here need discipline in order to control your magic," he said, looking mainly at Miguel and the fifth guest, Julie. "And some of you need discipline in controlling yourself and knowing when you to use magic," he said, this time fixing Jack with a look.

Realizing what was going on, Jack crossed his arms and jerked his head in Maddie's direction. "And what about her?"

"Maddie has already learned both of those lessons." Maddie gave Jack a smug look. "However," added Merlin, "she needs discipline to remember them, and will help the three of you learn discipline when I'm not around and unable to do so. Now what do you say to a tour of Discipline?"


	2. A Whole New World

Jack was rather bleary-eyed as he sat down at the table for breakfast the next morning. He hadn't gotten much sleep, he was too distracted by his new roommate and the tiny lightning bolts that run up and down Miguel's arms which were on top of his blankets. They cast a flickering light about the room, as if there was nothing more than a lightbulb that was on the verge of going out. It wasn't the trembling light that made it hard to sleep though, it was the fear that Miguel would let out one big bolt that could strike Jack with a snore. Jack tried to get him to wake up by calling his name several times, but to no avail, and touching him was not an option.

His only solution had been to put up a wall of ice between the two of them, adding a little extra magic to ensure it wouldn't melt and make a mess. He could still see flashes of light through it, but at least he didn't have to worry about being barbecued while he slept. Even with the ice barrier, he still didn't get much sleep. As soon as the son rose he reabsorbed the ice barrier, changed clothes and marched down to the kitchen intent on finding coffee, only without any luck. Seeing as nobody else was around, he gave up and plopped down at the table, burying his head into his arms.

"Didn't sleep well, Jack?" asked Merlin, who was coming down the stairs and the second arrival to the kitchen.

"Miguel wouldn't stop sparking the entire night. I actually found myself wishing he snored loudly, at least then I wouldn't have to worry about getting fried," mumbled Jack through his arms.

Merlin started to make a breakfast consisting of toast and eggs, directing slices of bread into the oven, and the eggs to start cooking on the stove. "Yes, that is unfortunate. Though once Miguel starts to learn how to control his magic better it shouldn't be an issue."

Jack groaned. For him, Miguel learning how to control his magic couldn't arrive quick enough. "Is there any coffee?"

Merlin shook his head and laughed. "I'm afraid not Jack. Magic and caffeine don't mix that well. Have you ever seen your mother drink coffee?"

Jack pondered the question. He had seen his mother drink quite a number of things on occasion, though he certainly never paid much attention. He did have a few memories of his father or Aunt Anna forcing a cup of tea into her hands once or twice when she was stressed. But never once could he remember her drinking coffee. Then again, neither could he remember his Aunt Anna drinking it either, but the reason why was rather obvious. "I don't think so," he admitted slowly. "But I drink coffee all the time."

"And look at where you are now," commented Merlin. "Perhaps it would do you some good to avoid caffeine for the time being, you might think more before you act."

A scowl formed on Jack's face, but he was prevented from saying anything because Julie and Maddie came down the stairs, followed closely by Miguel.

"Food smells good," said Maddie and took a seat next to jack, while Miguel and Julie sat across from her. "What's the matter with his highness? Was there a pea under his mattress?"

"More like a human lighting bug in the bed next to me," mumbled Jack, causing Miguel's to blush.

"Sorry," he muttered, embarrassed by his lack of control. He was used to being teased by his cousins, but never before by some random boy he had just met, and who was a prince no less.

"There's nothing to be sorry for," said Merlin as he waved the toast out of the oven and onto plates with the eggs. Five plates floated through the air and settled down on the table, with an extra-large helping of food landing in front of Julie who dove into it without any prompting. The plates were then quickly joined by a container of strawberry jam, along with five cups and a pitcher of orange juice. "You're here to learn how to control your magic for a reason."

Miguel finished chewing a bite of toast, and swallowed it down with the orange juice. "You keep saying that, but when will we actually learn?"

Julie's head popped up, as interested in the answer as Miguel. "Tomorrow is when classes start, so probably sometime then, depending on your schedules. I'll go and stop by the main office to pick them up."

Both Miguel and Julie pondered his answer, neither expecting something so soon. He had talked about controlling their magic constantly, but it seemed so far away. Tomorrow was a lot closer than someday. Jack wasn't that bothered by it, more concentrated on heaping as much jam as possible onto his toast, hoping the extra sugar might wake him up.

Maddie then spoke up. "If you're going to the main office, is it okay if we went into town? I lent Julie some of my clothes and adjusted them with magic, but she really needs some of her own, along with school supplies."

Julie's face reddened, all the way to the tips of her ears. She was well aware she had nothing of her own, and doubted that the mayor and his wife would send her any of her belongings if she asked—if they still had them.

"Of course, of course. While you're at it, I'm sure the boys would appreciate being shown about as well," replied Merlin. Jack's face brightened at the thought of a cappuccino, while Miguel's darkened at the thought of him having another incident in public. "Remind me to give you some money before you leave."

"You don't have to do that," said Julie softly, looking down at her empty plate. "I can make do without."

To her surprise, two more pieces of toast landed on her plate along with another scoop of eggs. Looking up, she saw Merlin smiling at her. "It's nothing, my dear. I'm currently working on becoming your guardian, and once I do I'll have access to your trust fund." Taking in the bewildered look on her face, he asked, "What? Do you think I would let you stay here while the rest of Auradon is on the hunt for Julie Sherman? Don't be absurd, I still have enough political clout I can get King Eugene and Queen Rapunzel of Corona to hear out your side of things now that I have the whole story."

Merlin and Maddie didn't blink at her name, though it was a different story for both Jack and Miguel. For the two of them, it was as if a bomb had been dropped—which in a way, one had.

Jack was the first to speak at the reveal of the identity of his new roommate. "You're Julie Sherman? The sister of the Pied Piper?"

Julie paused mid-bite, unsure of what to say. She had seen the newspapers detailing what had happened in Hamelin, and the speculation that she was involved. She knew she was a wanted person, but after last night when nobody had said anything about it, she assumed that either nobody knew about her or didn't care. Merlin didn't seem to care as she explained what had happened on the way back to the cottage. Instead, he comforted her and told her it wasn't her fault. Julie didn't know whether or not she believed him, but she appreciated the kind words just the same.

"I caused a nation-wide power outage yesterday," said Miguel, surprising the others as well as himself. He knew what had happened in Hamelin, and at the time had been just as appalled and horrified at the news as everybody else. However, after the events of yesterday, he could find himself sympathizing with Julie. And if Merlin vouched for her like he did for Miguel, then she couldn't be evil.

"Whoa, wait," exclaimed Jack. "I'm pretty sure I'd remember something like that!"

Maddie snorted at him. "Probably because you were in the car on the way here."

Jack paused, and thought about it for a second. "Oh." Maddie rolled her eyes, while Miguel hid a chuckle, and even Julie had a small smile on her face. "Well, my mother once froze her entire kingdom," said Jack, trying to keep up with Miguel and Julie's escapades.

"That's what your mother did," pointed out Miguel. "What exactly did you do to warrant being brought here?"

"I flirted with the daughter of the Duke of Weselton who was really, really hot." Seeing their confused looks, he added, "I made her an ice rose and her father didn't approve. Hey, what about you?" he asked of Maddie. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here because I didn't have control of my magic when I was younger," replied Maddie, and exchanged a look with Merlin.

Before any more questions could be asked of her, Merlin spoke. "Well, it's nice to see the four of you getting along and letting bygones be bygones. However, seeing as the food is gone, I think it's time we talked about chores before all going our separate ways."

"Chores?" echoed Jack. He had grown up with servants, and had never been required to do anything around the palace other than his homework or leaving his sisters alone. Miguel had a similar experience, though it was more due to his family's reluctance to let him around electronics. He had been allowed to help out by sweeping or cleaning the bathrooms or gathering laundry—tasks that didn't involve electricity at all.

"Chores," confirmed Merlin. "Maddie and I have a system down between the two of us, but now with the addition of three new people, that system has to change. When you get back tonight, you'll find a chart hanging up on the front of the ice box detailing who does what. Each person gets a new chore for a week, be it cleaning, cooking, laundry, or yard-work. Once the week is over, you'll be assigned a different chore, and so on.

"If you think your magic can aide you, talk with me first so I can supervise and ensure there are no issues. However, you don't have to use magic if you don't want to. If you have questions about what each chore entails, feel free to ask myself or Maddie, and I suggest you do for the first few weeks until you get a routine down. Of course, the chores must get completed in addition to your homework, and if they're not, you'll be talking to me. Are there any questions?"

Maddie raised her hand in the air, waving it wildly around and nearly hitting Jack. "Yes, Maddie?" asked Merlin with a hint of amusement in his eye.

Putting her hand down, Maddie asked her question. "So if we're busy doing the chores, what will you be busy doing?"

Merlin chuckled at her question. "I'll be busy teaching at the Institute, and running Discipline, ordering food from the cafeteria kitchens, working on getting guardianship of Julie, and being in charge of the Chore Chart naturally."

"Naturally," agreed Maddie. "You've been doing those things for years old man, why don't you just admit you're taking advantage of the four of us?" She said it in a light-hearted tone, not the least bit serious, but enjoying giving Merlin a hard time. Jesting at each other was a favorite past time of the two. The other three sitting at the table were quickly learning the dynamics of Discipline Cottage.

Merlin took her remarks in stride. "I'm afraid you've caught on to me. I must admit I do nothing at night other than twiddling my thumbs trying to come up with a way to get out of my work."

"Ha! I knew it!" cried Maddie, who then broke out into laughter, along with Merlin. Julie, Miguel, and Jack all looked at each with confused looks before shrugging, and cracking smiles of their own.

* * *

Walking down the street in Avalon was an experience of itself. Miguel was used to paved streets with cars zooming down them, and concrete sidewalks filled with busy pedestrians going about their day, or bicyclists rushing past him, in a hurry to their destination. The occasional wailing of a siren would permeate the air, louder than the honking horns from the cars in the streets, and other sounds of the city.

Avalon reminded Miguel of what cities used to be like before modernization spread across Auradon, back from the days of his grandfather. The main streets were paved, but with bricks or cobblestones rather than asphalt. The lesser-used streets were either dirt or gravel. There were no cars zooming down the streets, but horses pulling carts and carriages, leaving rather smelly piles behind them. Miguel turned up his nose in disgust, failing to see how people could insist that horses were a cleaner type of transportation than cars.

There were no concrete sidewalks, pedestrians merely kept to the side of the street where there were walkways present along the entrances to the buildings lining the street. They weren't made of concrete or raised, but they were clearly intended as walkways of some sort. There was some sort of covering extended out over them, and benches dotted the walkways every few feet, along with the type of lights Miguel had seen in Merlin's cottage. He was tempted to touch them, but was afraid he'd disrupt them even if they didn't run on magic.

When he chanced to look up, he saw the occasional flying carpet, broom, or even person flying high above his head. He knew that his Aunt Audrey had been looking into developing hover technology, but according to her that was still years away due to the amount of power needed to fight the force of gravity and keep one suspended in the air. He had a feeling that these people weren't using magnets or rockets to fly, and Miguel didn't know whether or not to be awed or scared of such a display of magic in the open.

Looking at the faces around him, Miguel could see that Jack and Julie were just as speechless as he was at the sight of open magic in Auradon.

Of course, it wasn't just the streets that were different from Auradon City, but the people. They were dressed in every style and time period Miguel could recognize. Modern and old, in bright colors, and some even had designs that moved or changed like one guy wearing silk blue robes who had fishes swimming on the back.

By far, the one thing that took his breath away the most, and caused him to stop where he stood, was the sight of a rabbit walking in a waistcoat with a top hat. He heard Jack next to him, say softly, "Class I," confirming that he had seen the same thing as Miguel.

With the formation of the United States of Auradon, came certain sets of legislation to rule the newly formed states. For example, nobility would still retain their lands and titles, with the kings and queens remaining head of their individual states while King Adam and Queen Belle would rule Auradon as a whole and require the lesser kings and queens to enforce their laws, and send representatives from their states to Auradon City. Another, more controversial piece of legislation that was pushed through mainly due to the Bambi incident, was the Sentient Species Protection Act.

The act outlined the different classes of sentient species and animals. Class III, known as the common class, included all animals without any sign of sentience. These were the animals that the public consumed, hunted, and used in their day to day life. All Class III animals were required to watch a film before being slaughtered which explained the different class system, and were given several chances to demonstrate Class II status. Only once they failed to do so, were they allowed to be killed under Auradon law. While it was rare for a Class II animal to be born to Class III parents, it wasn't unheard of and every precaution was in place to ensure they were properly identified.

Class II animals weren't as common as Class III, but were more well known. Class II animals had human intelligence, but lived like their species and couldn't talk, though they could get their point across with facial expressions and gestures. Many of the princesses and heroes throughout the land, had animal friends who fell into this category. Most Class II animals were pets, or best friends. It was illegal to sell a Class II without their consent, or capture or kill one. Those with Class II status who lived in the wild were required to wear some sort of identification or marker to avoid the same fate as Bambi's mother. It wasn't uncommon to see young bucks with painted horns galloping through the forests, courtesy of local farmers or park rangers.

Class I was perhaps, the rarest. To be considered a Class I, one had to meet three of the following criteria: walk upright, wear clothing, be able to communicate to humans through speech, and be capable of distinguishing right from wrong. It was those included in the Class I part of the act that gave it its name, the Sentient Species Protection Act. By the definition, fairies, genies, giants, aliens, and other non-human creatures met the requirements. While there had been some protest over being lumped together with the animals initially, it couldn't be denied that being included in the act did give all sentient species full protection and rights under the law as their human counterparts.

While Class I sentient species had never faced outright discrimination, as modern technology spread throughout Auradon, they were a reminder of magic and wilder times. Some, like Robin Hood and the residents of Sherwood preferred the old ways and moved to Avalon to keep their traditional way of life,. Others like Basil of Baker Street or those involved in the Rescue Aid Society, relocated simply because Avalon had better accommodations for creatures of their size than the rest of Auradon and then didn't have to hide from humans who would otherwise be uncomfortable with their status. In more recent years, some had moved to the new animal only city of Zootopia as well.

Jack shouldn't have been too shocked, he had grown up with Sven who was considered a Class II, and Olaf who was a Class I. Yet, Olaf was Olaf, the magical snowman his mother had once created who he grew up with, and the rabbit didn't show any sign of magic, other than the fact that he was a Class I creature. But he was in enough awe that he forgot about his quest to find a place where he could get a cappuccino.

Maddie rolled her eyes at the two boys, at least Julie had the common courtesy not to stare so openly. "Come on," she said tugging on their arms and leading them to into Fauna's Fashions which they had finally reached. "It's rude to stare and you'll catch bugs if you leave your mouths open much longer."

* * *

Once inside Fauna's Fashions, a look of amazement and bewilderment appeared on the faces' of Maddie's companions—again. The store had shelving from floor to ceiling of different types of fabrics in all sorts of colors and designs. There was leather which was traditionally worn by villains, velvet which had gone out of fashion in the rest of Auradon ages ago, but still seemed popular in Avalon, and several of the enchanted fabrics that changed colors or had moving designs like the ones they seen outside.

Mannequins of various sizes and shapes were displayed along the front of the store showing off the latest fashions for humans, and non-humans. There were tables throughout the middle of the room on which rolls of fabric were being cut or stitched together on their own. Standing on top of a dais in the middle of the room was Fauna, dressed in her familiar green dress, and directing the actions that were being performed on the tables with her wand.

A twinkle of a bell announced their arrival, causing her to look up at the quartet. "Oh, hello there. Hi Maddie," she said spotting Maddie among the group. "How's Merlin doing?"

"Fine," replied Maddie, with a smile on her face despite inwardly groaning. It was no secret that Fauna had a crush on him for years, and Merlin had yet to let her down gently or even reciprocate her feelings. He left it to Maddie to deal with Fauna whenever Merlin needed new clothes, and it was getting rather annoying that despite the fact he was so old, he was acting like a shy schoolboy. It was really time for him to deal with the issue head on, and Maddie knew how. "You know, this morning he was talking about how long it's been since you've come over."

"Oh that's so true," agreed Fauna enthusiastically, ignoring the looks of disbelief on Julie's, Jack's, and Miguel's faces. They had been there for breakfast, and the topic of Fauna never once came up. None felt like bringing it up though. "How about Wednesday at three? According to Flora and Merriweather he has the afternoon off on Wednesday."

Maddie didn't blink at the reveal that Fauna already had his work schedule memorized, while Merlin still had to pick up the four of theirs. "Sounds great, I'll be sure to tell him to see you then. We're not here for that though, Julie," said Maddie and pushed Julie forward who gave a small smile at Fauna, "needs a new wardrobe. I have a list of what she needs right here."

Maddie then handed Fauna the list Julie and Maddie had come up with after breakfast listing out all the different types of clothing she needed—shirts, pants, undergarments, socks, jackets, pajamas, nightgowns, and a few skirts and dresses for formal occasions. It was quite the list, and Julie had tried to shorten it several times, but Maddie had her beat in the stubbornness department.

Fauna took it from Maddie, and 'hemmed' as she looked over the list. "I assume you want the deluxe package as well?"

"Of course," replied Maddie.

"Deluxe package?" questioned Julie, unsure of what that all entailed.

"Oh yes, dear. The deluxe package comes with all clothing items being spelled to resist rips, spills, burns, include heating and cooling charms, will grow or shrink with your size—within reason of course—and even offer protection from physical and magical attacks that you'd normally get from enchanted armor. Not that the four of you are going into battle, but it comes in handy when one is first learning how to master their magic," explained Fauna. Maddie knew first-hand how valuable the fabric was, for it had saved her from serious injury when she was younger and her magic was still out of control.

"That sounds too expensive," said Julie. She had grown up with the finer things in life due to her family's wealth, though things had certainly changed in the past few months. Merlin may have acted as if it wasn't that big of a deal, but after spending the past several months living in the woods and foraging for food, money had suddenly seemed a lot more precious.

Fauna gave a small laugh and waved her hand at Julie. "Don't worry about it dear, seeing as how you're Merlin's student, you'll get a special discount."

Miguel raised his right hand slightly in the air. "Ma'am, er, Miss," he said, unsure of the proper way to address a fairy. His grandfather had taught him the proper bows and introductions to greet each level of nobility he might encounter in Auradon City, but well-known fairies was not on the list. His grandfather and Mr. Goldschmidt hadn't addressed Merlin with any fancy titles, so he wasn't too worried about offending him. But everybody know offending a fairy was a bad idea—just ask King Adam or Princess Aurora. "Could I get that special discount too? It'd be nice to not have to worry about my power burning holes into my clothes when I lose control."

Jack reached out to pull Miguel close to him in a bro hug at the appealing suggestion, but stopped at the last minute as he remembered the exact nature of Miguel's powers. He tried to the attempt by running his fingers through his hair, but he failed. "What he really means, is can we get the special discount too? Pretty please your fairyness?" Jack hadn't been taught how to properly address a fairy either, but had been taught that as a prince he should always show respect to others. This was just the one time he decided to act upon it.

All the buttering up must have done the trick, because Fauna blushed and giggled like a teenager. "There's no need for any of that in here. You boys are both more than welcome to the discount, after I see to Julie. She was here first after all."

"We wouldn't dream of anything else," replied Jack, flashing Fauna a brilliant white that sent her into another fit of giggles.

"Let's see," she said, and started to wave her wand around, causing a nearby basket to overturn and dumping its contents all over a table. With another wave, the contents sprawled further apart, allowing her to fly over and see what she wanted more closely. Spying what she wanted, she plucked an object off the table. Holding it up in her hands, the quartet could see it tape measure. "There we go, now step up to the dais Julie so I can get your measurements."

Julie complied, and once the two of them were out of ear shot, Maddie leaned over to Jack and whispered, "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"That," she hissed at him. "Flirting with Fauna, you do realize she's too old for you."

"Well, seeing as how Merlin doesn't do it, somebody ought to." Maddie shot him a look reminiscent of the one Helga gave him whenever she caught him in a lie—the very same one she had inherited from their mother. "It wasn't flirting, it was," he paused while trying to think to of the right word. "It was being charismatic, that's all. Besides, what about you?" Jack clasped his hands together, and blinked his eyelashes quickly doing his impression of being a girl. In a slightly higher voice than normal he said, "Oh Fauna, I'm just sure Merlin would love to have you for lunch." He dropped the act and returned his voice to normal. "Have barely known the guy for like a day, but pretty sure that's not the word I'd use to describe his reaction."

Miguel silently watched their exchange. He had always preferred to be more of a silent observer anyway because it meant being able to have a tighter control on his magic—unless it was a situation like earlier, where by speaking up he could gain something.

Maddie shrugged off Jack's impression. "Just helping a guy face his fears, that's all."

"Sure," scoffed Jack. "And out of the kindness of your heart, I suppose."

"Of course, I am naturally a kind person. I kept you from making an idiot of yourself outside when you couldn't stop starring. Couldn't stop you from making a complete idiot of yourself, but I don't think anybody can do that," she retorted.

Interrupting their banter were Julie and Fauna who approached the group. "All done," proclaimed Fauna. "I'll have your stuff done in a few hours. When you stop by to pick your things up, I'll get the boys measurements and order, and will bring them over on Wednesday."

"That sounds great, Fauna," said Maddie.

"Thank you," said Julie.

Being measured had been quite the experience, Fauna floated in the air while her tape measure went up and down, measuring what seemed to be every part of her body, tickling her lightly as it would stop and then go off again. Fauna would read the numbers out, not that Julie had any idea what they meant, and a quill, which was also floating in the air, would write it down on a floating piece of paper. It has been strange, but still rather pleasant, with Fauna chit-chatting to her in between the numbers, asking how she was liking Discipline Cottage and telling her about her sisters Flora and Merriweather working at the Institute. Julie was actually rather sad when it was all over.

"You're welcome, dear," beamed Fauna. "Be sure to stop by sometime and say hello. Hopefully you'll be able stop by on Wednesday."

Julie nodded, she was still confused over why Maddie invited Fauna over, but she was looking forward to seeing the fairy again, so she didn't say anything.

Jack gave a bow to Fauna, and then held out his arms to Julie and Maddie, the latter eyeing it warily. "What?" he asked. "I am a prince, you know, I can be princely."

"Whatever," replied Maddie. "Let's go get some lunch."

* * *

Julie had never had an empanada before, though both Miguel and Maddie had assured her they were delicious. Curious, she had ordered the chicken and spinach empanada like Maddie had—though Maddie had insisted she order two since she needed to gain a bit of weight, even if she couldn't finish them. Miguel had ordered one with beef, and Jack had ordered one with ham and cheese.

The four were nestled into a corner booth at Kronk's Meat Hut. Julie had pointed out the Tea Shoppe which was just four doors down, and looked rather fun with its exterior that was pointed in nearly every color and design Julie could think of. That was until Maddie mentioned it was ran by Alice, though the Mad Hatter and March Hare were guaranteed to be in there since that was where members of the UnBirthday Party, UBC, met each day, and things were known to get rather chaotic. The stained glass windows of the shop had even been spelled so they wouldn't break and shatter if something from the inside of the store was thrown against them.

Maddie had suggested Kronk's Meat Hut instead, and while Julie had her reservations at first due to his former villain status, she quickly warmed up to him. It was obvious within seconds of meeting him that Kronk was nothing more than a big old teddy bear, and didn't have an evil bone in his body. Despite being the owner and head chef, he had still come out and greeted them personally, chatting with Maddie for a bit as if she was an old friend. His wife, Birdie, who helped with the shop and also talked with them as well.

Due to their pleasant nature Julie found herself quickly forgetting that he used to work for a villain, and really, considering what happened in Hamelin, who was she to judge somebody for their past? She had spent the entire day in Avalon so far grateful that nobody had brought up her past—though that may have been because they didn't recognize her—and her new roommates had gotten over the shock easily enough and were treating her like it had never had happened.

Kronk's Meat Hut also wasn't very hut like. It was a brick building with plenty of windows to let light in. The benches and tables were a dark wood, that reminded Julie of the Hall. Dotting the walls were pictures of Kronk and Birdie and their Junior Chipmunk troop. Julie had been a Junior Chipmunk once, along with her cousins and her brother, Alan.

But that was a long time ago, before her world had been shattered into a million pieces in only a few minutes. It was best to concentrate on the now, and Kronk and Birdie and how cheerful and nice they were.

When the couple had finally left the table, Jack turned to Maddie, who was sitting diagonal from him on the aisle and asked, "So what's someone like him doing here? Not that there's anything wrong with him, but I thought that Avalon was a place for magic, and if I remember the story correctly, it was Yzma who dabbled with magic potions, not Kronk."

At first, Julie had thought Jack was asking because of Kronk's former villain status, so the last part of his question caught her off guard. He did have a point though.

Maddie finished swallowing the last bite of her empanada before answering. "While the Refuge and Sanctuary was mainly set up as a Refuge for those with magic, it's open to anybody who needs sanctuary and refuge, like Kronk. Back when the villains were being rounded up, there were some of the heroes and royals who were adamant that  _every_ villain, even those who were reformed should be sent to the Isle. They claimed that it could all be an act to escape the Isle, and as a precaution they should still be captured just in cast. In case you haven't noticed, Kronk doesn't have a mean bone in his body, so he and his wife moved here."

Jack let out a low whistle, which Julie found herself agreeing with. Would she have been sent to the Isle 'just in case' if Merlin hadn't taken her in? Could they still send her?

"That happened to an uncle of mine, and my parents and the King and Queen of Corona had to step in and tell the others to back off," commented Jack. Julie was curious as to what uncle he was talking about, but knew that the King of Arendelle had twelve of them, and figured it wasn't her place to ask. The others seemed to agree, because Maddie spoke next, and it wasn't in response to Jack's comment.

"There's others, besides Kronk and Birdie. There's the Class I animals obviously, but there's also the gypsies from Paris, and the aliens from space—they're don't have magic in space, but they like nobody looks twice at them here," said Maddie.

"Aliens?" squeaked Julie. Alien life had been confirmed, she learned that in science class, and she knew that there were a few stories involving them, but they occurred in lands far from Hamelin so she never gave them much thought.

"They only stop by every once in a while, and they're good," explained Maddie, "they wouldn't have been able to get through the wards if they weren't."

"Wards?" questioned Miguel.

"Avalon just didn't pop into existence twenty years ago, you know. It's always existed as a haven for magic, and the land is steeped heavily in it. A long time ago, wards were created to keep out those wanted to abuse the magic. Twenty years ago, the wards were tweaked so they not only kept those with evil intentions out, but attracted those who needed the sanctuary this place could provide."

"Huh," was all Miguel could say, which Julie felt summed up the situation entirely.

She had never given much thought as to where she was going when she was on the run, just as long as she was going away from Hamelin. Now that she really thought about it, it was almost as if she had been pulled in a certain direction. Whenever she tried to go in another, it felt wrong, or something would always be blocking her path. However, she did wonder why Merlin hadn't found her earlier. He had gone to see Jack and Miguel, why not her? She was going to ask him that once they returned. She may have been as shy as a mouse sometimes, but she still deserved some answers.

* * *

Once they were done with lunch, they went to a few more stores so Julie could supplies for school. To her delight, while the stores did sell quills and parchment which she had been expecting after seeing Fauna use them and assuming that all magic people did as well, they also sold regular notebooks and pens and pencils. She picked up some of those, a pencil case, calculator, a few highlighters, a backpack, and personal items that weren't for school. She was happy to see the others buying things as well, because it meant that they weren't stopping at stores just because of her.

Pretty soon it was time to head back to the cottage and to go pick up her new clothes at Fauna's along the way. As they got closer, Julie saw an old, short woman walking barefoot down the street using a snake as a cane.

Maddie was walking next to her and saw where she was looking. "That's Mama Odie, she's originally from New Orleans and helped Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen. They're still there running Tiana's Palace, though she moved here."

"They have one in Auardon City too," said Miguel. It was rather pricey, but the food was definitely worth it.

"Mmhmm," agreed Jack, who had been to the one in Auradon City and New Orleans a few times when his dad had let him join him on his diplomat trips. It was his dad's attempts to teach Jack how to be responsible and politically savvy in hopes that he'd be the family diplomat for his sister someday, much like how their father was for their mother. Unfortunately, Sonja was more likely to be a diplomat than Jack was, especially after the disastrous dinner with the Duke of Weaselton. "Does she work at the Institute?"

"Actually, she's the mayor of the town," replied Maddie, enjoying the shocked look on Jack's face.

"But she's so old and blind. Let me guess, her campaign motto was 'I'm not the mayor you want, but I'm the mayor you need'?" joked Jack. He was cut off by laughing with a slap upside the head. He rubbed it gingerly, while the culprit entered his line of sight—all the while the others were laughing at him.

"Blind, not deaf," said the figure, who Jack recognized as Mama Odie. He gulped nervously; all the time buttering up Fauna in the shop, and less than a few hours later he had managed to anger a voodoo priestess. May he should have paid more attention to those diplomat lessons. Her snake curled up her arm and looked at Jack curiously—a Class II if he had to guess.

Jack continued to massage the back of his head, while Mama Odie spoke once more. "And as a matter of fact, it was, and I ran unopposed." The snake nodded its head, agreeing with her words. "You must be Merlin's new students. Now let's see what we have here…"

Jack wondered how it was possible for a blind person to see, but didn't get much time to muse it over. Mama Odie managed to find his chin, and took it in her hands, yanking his head down to her level, with her snake mere inches away from his ear. He really hoped the snake was a Class II. "Hmm… a prince eh? Not exactly spoiled, but certainly reckless. You need to start thinking before you act, boy. Otherwise, you might just do something you regret and can't take back. Knew another prince like that, he too didn't have the sense he was born with, but he learned. You could to if you put your mind to it."

She let go of Jack's chin, and he backed up, grateful that he had his head back and was away from the snake. Mama Odie then stood in front of Miguel, and pulled him down to her level like she had done to Jack, ignoring the little sparks that started running up and down her arm. "A demigod, don't get a whole lot of those around here, they tend to stick Greece."

Miguel didn't take as kindly to Mama Odie's man handling. He wasn't entirely used to being touched by strangers, and didn't care if she was a voodoo priestess. "Look, I'd appreciate it if—" he began to protest, but Mama Odie used her left hand to bring his lips together, silencing him.

"Hush up, child. You're afraid of your power hurting others, and I know what that's like. But you can't let your fear control you forever, it'll get in the way of living. Listen to old Merlin, he'll teach you right, and don't be afraid to let others in and to change your dream." Satisfied, she let go and patted his cheeks.

Knowing what was about to happen and that there wasn't any way to escape, Julie bent down to Mama Odie's level, causing her to cackle. "Now that's how it's done boys," she said to Jack and Miguel, and clasped Julie's chin in her hands. "Poor thing, such heartbreak in one so young. It wasn't your fault, and though it may look like it, it wasn't his either. You have a gift, much like the one next to me, and it should be used. As long as you use it for good, you won't go wrong."

She let go of Julie's chin, and didn't make a move towards Maddie. Maddie quirked an eyebrow at her. "What, not going to do me?"

Mama Odie threw back her head and laugh, causing her snake to uncurl slightly, so he wouldn't get caught up. "Why should I do you? I've done you plenty of times, there ain't nothing new I could tell you. You've come a long way from the scrawny little thing you were, though you still have a long way to go. If you play your cards right, you could even be mayor someday."

This time, it was Maddie's turn to laugh. "Please. You're what, going on one hundred and seventy? At the rate you're going, you'll outlive us all."

Mama Odie cackled again, using her snake to wipe away a tear from her eye. "Oh Maddie, you sure know how to make me laugh. Watch after these ones, you hear? I know you're used to having Merlin all to yourself, but it's time for you to grow up and help the others like Merlin helped you."

Maddie crossed her arms and grinned at her. "I thought you weren't going to tell me anything."

"I didn't tell you anything that you didn't already know, so wipe that grin off your face." Maddie didn't and if anything, it just grew wider. "Now, Juju and I have appointments at the salon. I get my feet done up all nice and pretty, and Juju gets his scales shined up." Juju, the snake, brightened up at the mention of getting his scales shined and a dreamy look appeared on his face.

"Bye Mama Odie, thanks for the advice," said Maddie, and waved.

Jack felt rather awkward waving at a blind person, but thought he should follow Maddie's lead, and Miguel and Julie did the same saying thanks as well.

To his surprise, Mama Odie waved back, and even Juju waved his tale. "And don't forget to dig a little deeper inside yourselves!"

Once Mama Odie was out of sight and earshot, Jack leaned over to Maddie. "I like her."

Miguel nodded. "She's unique," he said, mulling over her words and marveling at how she didn't seem to mind his magic.

"Is what she said true?" asked Julie, as Mama Odie's words ran through her head.

"More than likely. I mean, she does likes to play the occasional trick or too, but comes clean pretty quickly." Noticing the misty look in Julie's eyes she added, "But I'm sure what she told you is true. She wouldn't lie about something like that."

"Really?" asked Julie, trying to not get her hopes up.

"Really."

* * *

Upon returning to the cottage, the four put their purchases away. Merlin still wasn't back yet, though he had put up the chart on the front of the ice box. The four of them gathered around it seeing who had been assigned what. Miguel had cooking, Maddie had yard work, Jack had cleaning, and Julie had laundry.

"I've never cleaned before in my life," admitted Jack, who had honestly been hoping for something easier like laundry. You just took the stuff, tossed in detergent and pressed a button. Surely Merlin had some sort of automated magical machine or something as well.

"And I've never cooked," added Miguel. With the prohibition against him touching electronic devices, letting him in the kitchen where there was a gas stove seemed like an especially bad idea.

"We'll help you, won't we Maddie?" said Julie, who wasn't that bothered by the idea of chores. While her family could have afforded to have servants, they took care of Sherman Hall by themselves, a matter of family pride. She was used to doing chores like laundry, and just needed to be shown where to do it.

"Sure," said Maddie, with not much enthusiasm in her voice. She had been acting the tour guide and leader all day, and it was starting to take a toll. She pulled the door to the ice box open. "Right now there's enough food in here for a few more days. When it's low, you'll have to go to the kitchens and give them a list of what you need. I suggest planning meals a few days in advance. You don't have to worry about making lunch, since we'll eat at the cafeteria on school days, or can eat leftovers."

"Okay," said Miguel slowly, warming up to the idea of cooking, though he still didn't know any recipes. "Any ideas for dinner?"

Still looking into the ice box, Maddie said, "Well there's some beef in there, and I think there's still a bag of rolls in the bread box… you could make up some hamburgers. We don't have a grill, but you can use the stove top. Oh, and you don't have to worry about the stove. Merlin configured it so you just put wood in over here," she said and pointed to a small door off to the side, "and start a small fire. The spells on it use the fire to heat up the stove and oven. There's no electricity involved, just the wonder magical mechanics."

Miguel nodded in appreciation. He wondered what it would take to get something like that back home. "There's just one more thing… I don't know how to make hamburgers."

"No biggie," said Maddie, and went for the shelf above the stove, which Miguel noticed had a row of books on it. She pulled one off, and opened to a page, shoving it under Miguel's face. On the page was a picture of the prettiest looking hamburger Miguel had ever seen, though there was some sort of old stain distorting the image somewhat. "We have an entire collection of recipe books. Merlin prefers Gusteau's, and while the food is good, I prefer my recipes less complicated. This one is a good book for beginning cooks." Jack snickered, and Maddie shot him a look. "What are you laughing at? With the way the schedule works, you might be cleaning this week, but you'll be cooking next week. I don't want to repeat myself, so you better pay attention."

The smug look fell from his face. "Aw man."

Maddie smiled at him, and pointed to an apron hanging up on a hook on the back of the wall. "There's an apron if you want it. And whoever does the cooking has to do the dishes too."

Miguel then started on dinner, with Julie helping by answering the occasional question and assuring him he was doing a good job for his first time. Jack was moving around, unable to sit still, though his eyes never left Miguel. It'd be Jack's turn in the kitchen soon enough, and he didn't want to give everybody food poisoning. Maddie was seated at the table with her nose buried in a book, keeping a watchful eye on all of them, ready to jump in if something went wrong.

A few hours later, the four were seated around the table with Merlin included who had returned just as the hamburgers were finishing up. "For a first time cook, you should be proud Miguel."

Miguel appreciated the compliment. He'd never been given the chance to cook before, the most he'd ever done was make a sandwich or cereal—food that was deemed 'safe' for him to make. "Julie helped," he said. While he was happy the hamburgers had turned out okay, he knew that their quality was most likely due to her help and would have been burnt without her.

"Oh did she?" replied Merlin, and shot a look at Maddie, who shrugged in response.

Merlin looked as if he wanted to say something else, but Julie spoke up. "It was nothing really, I used to help out my family in the kitchen all the time."

She got rather quiet at the end, as memories flashed through her mind. Was Mama Odie right about it not being her brother's fault? Just another mystery to add to the list of things to talk about with Merlin once she got him to herself, without the others around and once she had gathered up the courage.

"Well it was still a nice gesture on your part. Hopefully with time, you'll come to view Discipline Cottage as your new family—not that it could ever replace your old one. On a happier note, who wants their class schedule?"

Jack groaned. Since when was getting a class schedule a happy thing?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some notes about this chapter. While I haven't read the books, I do know Dr. Facilier was included, which therefore means, that somewhere out in Auradon there exists a walking, jazz playing alligator. We also see the mention of Sherwood Forest in the movie, though none of the players were animals. That got me to thinking, what happened to Louis? What about the other Disney movies that featured animals like those in Robin Hood? How do animals fit in with Auradon? How do they justify eating meat/fish when it could turn out to be somebody's lovable sidekick? That's how I came up with the class system, which I think does cover every animal ever featured in a Disney movie- though I could be wrong. This chapter was originally written before Zootopia was released, so that would answer some of my questions, but not all. The class system also covers all non-human sentient creatures like fairies, genies, and aliens (which won't feature much in the story, but does connect Treasure Planet and Lilo and Stitch to the world) and ensures they have the same rights under the law like humans.
> 
> Kronk was a fun bonus to include in this chapter, though I don't know how much more he'll pop up. His wife, Birdie or Ms. Birdwell is from Kronk's New Groove, and while he may have made 'puffs' in the movie, they were actually empanadas, according to the Disney wiki. Mama Odie was another fun inclusion as well. In the movie she did seem to be able to 'see' into Tiana and Naveen, knowing their inner self, so I figured it'd make sense for her to do the same to Julie, Miguel, Maddie, and Jack.
> 
> If you're curious about the comment regarding Jack's one uncle who had to deal with the villain status like Kronk, go check out my story 'A Baker's Dozen'. While this story isn't a direct sequel to that one, I am including certain characters and plot elements from that one to have a better background for Jack's family.
> 
> Next chapter will finally have the classes. Expect to see canon characters from Peter Pan, Tarzan, Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, and Hercules, along with some children of familiar characters.


	3. First Day of School

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder that this story is AU after the first movie. Camelot and King Arthur are no longer around.
> 
> Class Schedules:
> 
> Maddie (Sophomore):
> 
> 1\. 8:00 – 8:45 AM: Practical Magic with Merlin, Malperdy Hall
> 
> 2\. 8:50 – 9:35 AM: Chem II, John Darling, STEM
> 
> 3\. 9:40 – 10:25 AM: Alternate Fairytales Around the World, Jiminy Cricket, Sherman Fine Arts Building
> 
> 4\. 10:30 – 11:15 AM: Modern History, Jane (of Tarzan and Jane), Culture and Heritage
> 
> 5\. 11:20 – 12:05 PM: Runes of the Ancient World, Merlin, Malperdy
> 
> 6\. 12:10 – 12:55 PM: Lunch, Cafeteria, Main Hall
> 
> 7\. 1:00 – 1:45 PM: Pre-Calc, Professor Archimedes (Jane's father), STEM
> 
> 8\. 1:50 – 2:35 PM: Beginner's Guide to Curse-Breaking, Flora, Malperdy
> 
> Julie (Freshman):
> 
> 1\. 8:00 – 8:45 AM: Practical Magic with Merlin, Malperdy Hall
> 
> 2\. 8:50 – 9:35 AM: Ancient History, Jane, Culture and Heritage
> 
> 3\. 9:40 – 10:25 AM: Alternate Fairytales Around the World, Jiminy Cricket, Sherman Fine Arts Building
> 
> 4\. 10:30 – 11:15 AM: Chem I, John Darling, STEM
> 
> 5\. 11:20 – 12:05 PM: Intro to Magical Theory,, Flora, Malperdy
> 
> 6\. 12:10 – 12:55 PM: Lunch, Cafeteria, Main Hall
> 
> 7\. 1:00 – 1:45 PM: Music Appreciation, Aquata, Sherman Fine Arts Building
> 
> 8\. 1:50 – 2:35 PM: Algebra II, Professor Archimedes, STEM
> 
> Jack (Sophomore):
> 
> 1\. 8:00 – 8:45 AM: Practical Magic with Merlin, Malperdy Hall
> 
> 2\. 8:50 – 9:35 AM: Chem II, John Darling, STEM
> 
> 3\. 9:40 – 10:25 AM: Alternate Fairytales Around the World, Jiminy Cricket, Sherman Fine Arts Building
> 
> 4\. 10:30 – 11:15 AM: Modern History, Jane (of Tarzan and Jane), Culture and Heritage
> 
> 5\. 11:20 – 12:05 PM: Pre-Calc, Professor Archimedes, STEM
> 
> 6\. 12:10 – 12:55 PM: Lunch, Cafeteria, Main Hall
> 
> 7\. 1:00 – 1:45 PM: Intro to Magical Theory, Flora, Malperdy
> 
> 8\. 1:50 – 2:35 PM: PE, Phil, Main Building
> 
> Miguel (Junior):
> 
> 1\. 8:00 – 8:45 AM: Practical Magic with Merlin, Malperdy Hall
> 
> 2\. 8:50 – 9:35 AM: Calc I, Professor Archimedes, STEM
> 
> 3\. 9:40 – 10:25 AM: Alternate Fairytales Around the World, Jiminy Cricket, Culture and Heritage
> 
> 4\. 10:30 – 11:15 AM: Modern History, Jane (of Tarzan and Jane), Culture and Heritage
> 
> 5\. 11:20 – 12:05 PM: Intro to Magical Theory, Flora, Malperdy
> 
> 6\. 12:10 – 12:55 PM: Lunch, Cafeteria, Main Hall
> 
> 7\. 1:00 – 1:45 PM: Magical Mechanics, Rosie, Malperdy
> 
> 8\. 1:50 – 2:35 PM: Physics II, John Darling, STEM

The Avalon Education Institute couldn't have been more different than Auradon Prep. Auradon Prep was a boarding school, that was located in an old stone castle that looked more like a fortress than a palace—though, it had undergo a major renovation before the students moved in in order to modernize and make it less threatening.

The Institute was made up of several buildings—six main ones, with a few smaller ones—on a campus that could have fit into Auradon Prep's boundaries with room to spare. The buildings were fairly new, at least compared to Auardon Prep, and had been built in a newer style featuring neat red brick walls, tall white columns, and white windows all lined neatly in a row.

The first of the five main buildings consisted of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Building, known as STEM which featured the titular departments of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, as well as astronomy, biology, anatomy, and agriculture. Out behind the STEM building were greenhouses, stables, and a fishery.

Then there was the Sherman Fine Arts Building, which Julie was surprised to learn her family had contributed to, having never heard of it before. The building was home to the Music Department featuring the Avalon Orchestra, Avalon Band, and Avalon Choir, as well as the Literature Department, and Art Department which covered theater, dancing, drawing, sculpting, painting, and other forms of art. The pride of the building was the large two story auditorium where musical and theatrical performances were put on throughout the year for the community, along with the outside amphitheater which on the backside of the building.

Next was the Scrooge McDuck Business and Law School, paid for (begrudgingly) by said McDuck upon learning the initial plans for the Institute didn't include a business school and had declared it inconceivable for a school to exist without one. The school taught business, law, international relations, and politics.

There was also the Culture Appreciation and Heritage Building. The building housed the history and languages of all the states united in Auradon, along with every other known culture such as the mermaids, fairies, several different types of alien cultures, the giants, and even the goblins. In addition, it kept the heritage of Auradon and Avalon alive, one that the rest of Auradon seemed to determine to forget such as sword making, blacksmithing, candle making, glass blowing, weaving, carpentry, and other trades that had been made obsolete by technology.

The Main Hall was where the Main Office was, along with the cafeteria which doubled as the classroom for the cooking students, classes for the children from the town, and where the gym and stadium were. Dean Mickey, along with his main staff had their offices there. It had a small infirmary which was staffed by nurses and doctors from the hospital in town, fit capable of treating a number of different creatures of any physical, emotional, or magical ailment. The Main Hall was centrally located on the campus, with the five others surrounding it as if they were the points of a star. STEM was located to the northwest, the Sherman Fine Arts Building was to the northeast, The Scrooge McDuck Business and Law School to the southwest, and the Culture Appreciation and Heritage Building to the southeast.

The final building that was directly north of the Main Hall, was Malperdy Hall, which in Maddie's opinion was the best of all the buildings for it housed all classes magic-related. It was also the location 1of her first class.

Not just her first class, but the others as well. They were currently located in a classroom on one of the upper floors away from the main traffic that could cause unwanted distractions. Merlin had specifically requested it as his assigned classroom for that reason—the further away he was from the majority of the people in the building the fewer interruptions in his lessons.

The classroom was a simple square room with wooden floors that had seen better days. There was one wall facing the outside and covered with windows stretching from the ceiling to the floor that allowed a view of the Avalon Forest Preserve that was to the north of the school. Chalkboards covered the remaining three walls, except for the small space left for the door. On the chalkboard were various scribbles of runes and diagrams, along with magical theories.

There was a large wooden desk at the front of the room, that was covered in books and papers as well, barely leaving enough for Merlin to sit at it and get any work done. There were several other desks in the room as well, arranged in a U facing Merlin's desk. In the middle of the floor between them were four chalk circles—each containing one of his students.

They had found the circles nearly completely drawn on the floor when they entered the classroom, and without a second thought Maddie sat down in one, grabbed a piece of chalk and finished drawing the circle.

The three others watched her with confusion, and Merlin chuckled at the expressions on their faces. "Welcome to Practical Magic. This class will allow you to learn how to control your magic, as well as allow you to experiment and dabble with your magic while being supervised in a controlled environment."

Jack rolled his eyes, he already knew how to control his magic. His mother had seen to that as soon as he and his sisters showed the slightest hint of inheriting her icy powers when they were younger. Julie was less sure, she knew that there was magic in her family, but it had always seemed a byproduct of their musical talent, not something that could be controlled or experimented with, and given what had happened with to her brother she wasn't sure she even wanted to learn about her magic.

Miguel was a completely different story. Curious, he raised his hand only for Merlin to chuckle at him. "There's no need for that here Miguel. If you have a question, go ahead and ask it."

Slightly abashed, Miguel lowered his hand. "How exactly are we going to be learning control?"

"Excellent question Miguel, perhaps Maddie would care to answer it?"

Maddie shrugged from her spot in the circle. "Not really, seems like you got things completely under control."

When Merlin raised an eyebrow, Maddie sighed. "Fine. The first step in controlling your power is meditation and learning how to clear your mind. By clearing your mind, you can better control your magic and reduce the chance of having magical outbursts. With time and practice, you will eventually be able to visualize your magical core."

Maddie said it in a flat tone, having heard it so many times from Merlin over the years that she could repeat it in her sleep. Her three new roommates exchanged puzzled looks over her words. "Meditation?" asked Miguel. "How exactly will that help?"

"Yeah, I've been able to control my magic for years without meditation," said Jack with a confident smirk on his face. "Why should I start now?"

"Well Jack, for one this a class and I'm sure your parents would be interested in hearing your explanation for failing it on your first day," replied Merlin, with a slight smile playing on his lips, and the same sparkle in his eyes Jack had seen that first day they met. Jack's shoulders slumped in defeat, knowing how his parents would react to the news. "As to how, as Maddie explained, clearing one's mind helps one better control their emotions which can lead to magical outbursts—something I'm sure all of you have experienced at some point in your life. Now, everybody get in a circle like Maddie."

The three of them complied while Merlin went around and completed their circles with chalk like Maddie done with her own. When he got to Miguel's, he found another question waiting for him. "How exactly do the circles help with control?"

"Another good question, Miguel. If you were to look closer at the edge of your circles, you'll see smaller symbols on the outside. These are runes, and once your circles are completed they'll activate creating a ward, ensuring all magic will be kept inside the circle, and no magic will seep into the circle. You'll learn more about runes and wards as you advance with your magic since they're used in quite a number of rituals and everyday use. If you smudge the chalk line, the circle will be broken as will the ward, so took care until you're done with the class."

Miguel peered over, and sure enough there were a number of squiggly lines around the circle, looking as if they were a toddler's attempt at writing the alphabet. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Julie and Jack taking a closer look as well.

Satisfied, he turned his attention back to Merlin, waiting for further instruction. The sooner he got his magic under control, the better. "Now it's time to clear your mind," instructed Merlin. "I've found the best way is by closing your eyes, and slowing your breathing by counting to ten before breathing in and out. It's hard to do so at first, but with practice I'm sure you'll get it. Put away all thoughts and just concentrate on breathing. Ready everyone? One two…"

Miguel sat cross-legged in the circle and hoped that his feet wouldn't fall asleep in the process. Closing his eyes, he counted to ten silently in his head with Merlin's counts, and breathed in. Another count of ten and he breathed out, before repeating the pattern. Once he got the rhythm down, he tried to clear his mind, which was easier said than done since so many thoughts kept flitting through. Just when he thought he was finally getting somewhere, a snore from his side interrupted his thoughts. He opened one and saw Jack next to him receiving a glare from Merlin.

He closed his eyes and started to count to ten as he breathed in and out. As thoughts faded from his mind, a small sphere started to become clearer in his mind, glowing brightly and crackling loudly. It wasn't a stray thought, but was something else entirely, something that seemed as if it had always been there, but he had never noticed it before. He tried to concentrate on it, and just when—

A loud noise interrupted his concentration, though this time it wasn't Jack's snoring, but was the sound of a gong. He opened his eyes and saw Merlin standing in front of him and the others.

"That's the end of the class. Miguel you did very well for your first time, I think you'll be pleased to find that the lightning bolts which plagued you this morning are gone, and tomorrow you should be ready for the next step. Jack, try harder tomorrow, you're supposed to be meditating, not sleeping. Julie, while you didn't fall asleep like Jack, you weren't trying either. I expect by the end of the week all of you should be able to clear you mind in under fifteen minutes so you can start working with your magic in the remaining time like Maddie did today."

Miguel stood up slowly, stiff from sitting in the same position for so long. Looking down, he saw that the tiny bolts that usually danced up and down his arms were gone, just as Merlin had said.

A smile broke out on his face. If he kept at it, he might actually be able to be around electronics without frying them, and someday he could even join the rest of his family at Whitmore Industries.

He pulled out his schedule and saw that he had Calc I next in the STEM building with a Professor Archimedes. Miguel couldn't deny that there was a part of him relieved to see a normal class with a subject he was fond of and not one involving magic.

If he had a choice, he'd never use magic again.

Once the other three were out of the room, Julie approached Merlin.

"I really don't understand why I'm in this class, I don't even think I have any magic, at least not like the others. So why am I here?"

Merlin peered at her over his spectacles, and she held her breath while waiting for him to reply. Despite the kindness he and the others had shown her over the past couple of days, she couldn't help but feel as if she really didn't belong.

She didn't have magic like the others, and she most certainly didn't want to have anything to do with magic if it meant being like her brother.

So why had Merlin taken her in and enrolled her in the institute?

"Julie, whether you want to admit it or not, your family's magic is more than simply having heroes and royals bursting into song. I told Frank that all those years ago when he sought me out, but he preferred to keep making music rather than learning how to control it, and of course the fey being the fickle creatures they are didn't bother to tell him anything about their gift."

Julie frowned, Alan's last words replaying in her mind about how it was Merlin who kept things back. "But Alan said—"

"I'm afraid your brother was misinformed Julie, and just because he misused your family's magic, doesn't mean you will. While I won't force you to explore your magic, I will insist that you at least try to learn how to meditate and resume playing instruments. Ignoring magic never works out well for a person, just ask Miguel. Even though the Fairy Godmother has sworn off magic, I can assure you she still meditates on a daily basis to keep it in check. If you have more questions, you can always ask them later tonight. Now you'd better hurry before you're late to your next class, which if I recall correctly is in the Culture's building."

Merlin had left her with a lot to think about, and it was only later did Julie remember the other question she had wanted to ask him.

* * *

Third period found all of them in the same class once more, this time in their literature equivalent class, Alternative Stories From Around the World with Jiminy Cricket. Given the fact that they were a mixture of different ages—Julie being the youngest as a freshman, Maddie and Jack both being sophomores, and Miguel being a junior—Maddie had a feeling Merlin had pulled some strings to get them all into at least one class together outside of his. While Alternative Stories was a required course to take, it was typically taken while being a sophomore like Maddie was, not as a freshman or senior.

It was all highly suspect, but there was nothing Maddie could do about it since it was a class she had to take anyway, and due to the rather small class size was only offered at one time, and trying to rearrange her schedule would mean possibly giving up her electives which were only offered at certain times.

So she just had to suck it up for the time being and accept that Merlin was going to continue forcing the four of them together whether she liked it not. And while there was nothing wrong with her new roommates, she was used to it just being her and Merlin. Her first class had always been just the two of them. He did teach other classes, but the first class of the day his only student was Maddie. First out of necessity when she didn't have much control over her magic and had just arrived at Avalon and was dealing with other issues as well, and then it just became tradition as the years passed.

And here she was in another class with her new roommates barely two hours later after the last one. Didn't Merlin know there was such a thing as too much togetherness?

Propping her chin up with her elbow, Maddie tried to concentrate on what Jiminy was saying. He was standing on top of the desk at the front of the classroom, with a miniature chalkboard and miniature chalk in hand. The chalkboard was spelled so that the words written on it would appear on the large chalkboard on the wall, the one which the normal size teachers used. He also was wearing a cricket-sized necklace that increased the volume at which he spoke so those in the back could still hear him.

"Welcome to Alternative Stories From Around the World. A bit of a mouthful, if I do say so myself. You can call this class simply Alt Stories if you want, just like I do."

Jiminy was one of Maddie's favorite teachers. At first his constant optimism and insistence on doing the right thing grated on her nerves, but he had won her over with his kind nature and easy going personality. She always enjoyed his classes because while he did teach, it was always more in a laid back way. Sure he could get preachy at times when students forgot to turn in their papers or didn't live up to their full potential (Maddie had fallen into the latter category several times), but he was always willing to give a person another chance as long as he saw them trying.

Jiminy continued talking to the class, and had yet to touch a piece of chalk. If his previous classes were anything to go by, then this one wouldn't last for much longer. Antsy, Maddie picked up her pen and opened to a fresh page in her notebook. She was ready for whatever assignment he was about to give.

As expected, he didn't disappoint. "You'll spend the semester working on a series of assignments and then will turn in a final paper at the end of the semester as well as giving a presentation to the class."

He paused, allowing for a collective groan before continuing. "Now, now, it won't be that bad—and remember you won't be the only one who has to get up to speak. As the name of this class implies, it's all about alternative stories to the ones you typically know. In many parts of the world, Cinderella is told differently. In others, they have a completely different set of stories they've grown up with. Each of you will be assigned a different one to research. Penny?"

He gestured to a girl in the front row who was closest to his desk. She got up and picked up a glass bowl that was on the desk and filled with slips of paper. Those who had taken Jiminy's class before, recognized his usual assignment method and started picking out a slip of paper when the glass bowl was passed to them.

Jiminy continued to speak as the bowl made its way around the classroom. "You're all to spend the rest of the class in the Literature Library researching your story. Tomorrow I expect each of you to have written a brief summary of the most popular version of your assigned story."

It wasn't that hard of an assignment, though Maddie had yet to see what her story for the semester was to be. Eventually the bowl reached her, and she pulled out a slip of paper before passing it on to the person behind her, who turned out to be Jack. Unrolling the slip, Maddie read the words written on it.

Tam Lin.

Maddie was unfamiliar with the tale, but was fairly sure it had something to do with the fey, and that was only because he had been off on some rant regarding Nimue, and the name Tam Lin had been mentioned.

Jack, however, wasn't as lucky. She felt a poke in her back, making her turn around and having the eraser end of a pencil waving about in her face. "What's Rump—" he paused, taking a closer look at his slip of paper. "Rum-peld-stills-kin?"

Apparently Maddie wasn't the only one who needed a trip to the library.

* * *

Julie and Miguel joined Maddie and Jack at their table, though Maddie had expected them to do so at this point. They seemed rather intent on keeping to the quartet rather than going about making their own friends.

A loud sigh caused Maddie looked up from her own book, Fire and Hemlock. "What was that for?"

Jack had spun the chair next to her around, so he was sitting on it backwards. "Because I've never heard of this Rumpelstillskin guy and could barely find anything on him. Apparently they've all been check out. What kind of parent names their kid that, anyway? Did they want him to get beat up? Hey, what story did you get?"

"Tam Lin," replied Maddie, not even bothering to correct Jack's mispronunciation or offering any help in finding more books. Given how hard of a time he had with trying to look up his subject using a card catalogue and complaining that a computer would have been simpler, she had a feeling he hadn't really tried that hard to begin with.

"Never heard of that one either. Why can't the cricket have just assigned ordinary stories that we already know?"

"Because that would defeat the purpose of the class," spoke Miguel, from his spot across from Maddie. "Though I will admit, I do have the fortune of already knowing my story, The Ugly Duckling."

A moan escaped from Jack's mouth as he cracked open the only book he had managed to find, which was so torn up and raggedy, he doubted he would get much useful information out of it. "So not fair. What about you Julie, what one do you have?"

Julie didn't even glance up from the book she was flipping through, East. "East of the Sun, West of the Moon. From what I can tell so far, it's a different version of Beauty and the Beast."

"Beauty and the Beast? That's so unfair. Want to tra—ow!" said Jack, rubbing the back of his head.

Maddie, who had given him a slap upside the head, glared at him. "Stop complaining, and start reading."

"Fine," groaned Jack as he peered closer at the page. "But I can already tell I'm going to hate this Rumple guy."

The table descended into relative quiet, aside from the sounding of the occasional page flip or the scratching of a pencil on paper as notes were written. That was until two others classmates approached the table.

"Do you have a second, Maddie?"

Next to the table were two boys. One was tall with sandy-colored hair, and the other was slightly shorter, with darker hair and skin. It was the latter who had asked the question.

"What is it Mowgli?"

The shorter boy shifted on his feet nervously. His companion nudged him with an elbow. "Go ahead, ask her. She won't bite, promise."

"Christopher Robin is right, I won't bite," said Maddie, offering a reassuring smile to Mowgli.

"Hard," muttered Jack under his breath, earning a kick in the shins underneath the table. Though he'd never admit it out loud, he was enjoying the ribbing between him and Maddie; it reminded him of his relationship with his sisters back home.

"Well, my assignment is Camelot. I was wondering if you knew anything about her, or if I could talk to Merlin about her."

Though they didn't say anything, Jack, Miguel, and Julie all stopped reading and turned their attention to Maddie and whatever she was about to say. All three knew the basics about Merlin—he was a powerful wizard who helped King Arthur with Excalibur and Camelot until it fell thanks to Morgana le Fay and her son Mordred after King Arthur was betrayed by his wife, Guinevere, and best friend, Lancelot. The details beyond that were a little murky, other than what they knew know about him—mainly that he had disagreed with King Adam and Queen Belle twenty years ago and moved to Avalon.

Maddie gave a small sigh before speaking. "Look, I really know just as much as you do. He really doesn't like talking about Arthur and Camelot, it's still fresh for him after all these years. You can try asking him, but I can't guarantee that he'll answer. Your best bet is probably opening a book like the rest of us. Sorry."

"That's okay," replied Mowgli. "I had a feeling that's what you would say, but Christopher Robin said I should at least try."

"Yeah, he's nice like that," commented Maddie. She and Christopher Robin weren't friends per se, but he was always willing to lend her an extra pencil or piece of paper in class if she needed it, and seemed to get along pretty well with everybody.

Christopher Robin, living up to his reputation, shrugged off the half-compliment. "Thanks Maddie. Well, we'd better get our books checked out before the gong rings."

The two left the group of four, who had already checked out their books earlier.

Jack lent over to Maddie and whispered, "So, what do you know about King Arthur and Camelot?"

"Like I said, about as much as you do. Merlin doesn't like talking about those days, there's a reason I've never been allowed to have a pet, not even a Class III. It's just too personal for him. Now hush and get back to reading."

* * *

It wasn't until fifth period that Maddie finally had a class that didn't feature any of her new roommates, having shared second period, Chem II with Jack, and fourth period, Modern History with Jack as well as Miguel.

Now though, she was sitting back in Merlin's classroom at one of the desks for Runes of the Ancient World with no roommates in sight.

Next to her, a dark-haired girl with a braid trailing down her back, sat down. Her fluorescent green nails flickered to a deep purple, followed by a bright orange, and then back to green once more.

Maddie raised an eyebrow. "Somebody couldn't decide on a nail color today."

"Are you kidding me? I was lucky I was able to do this much today, I wanted to animate them as well, but dad wouldn't let me leave until he had taken the perfect first day of school picture."

Not feeling the least bit envious, Maddie asked, "He still does that?"

"Of course! He's all," and then, in a much deeper and accented voice the girl said, "As a genie I never got a chance to go to school. It was always, 'Yes Master, this', and 'Yes Master, that'. Is it too much for this old genie to ask for nothing more than the simple wish of seeing his little Munya get to have what he never did?"

Returning to her normal voice, Munya finished in an exasperated tone, "And of course mom just goes along with him, telling me to humor him lest he decides to keep me in a lamp for the next hundred years because he can't stand the thought of his only daughter growing up. I swear Mads, you have no idea how lucky you are just living with Merlin rather than parents and four annoying and overprotective brothers."

Munya Evans had been Maddie's best friend since her first day at the Institute. When others had been frightened off by her seemingly random and large outbursts of magic, it was Munya who had taken one look at the shy girl with pink hair and declared that from that day forward Maddie would be her best friend. The magical outbursts didn't scare her because with four older brothers who were half-genie and a father that was, sudden magical outbursts were nothing new around her home taking the form of various pranks and teasing. Even her mother, a regular human, had come up with a few tricks of her own.

For the most part of the summer, Munya had been off with her family on vacation in Atlantis leaving Maddie by herself until her new roommates had shown up. The separation hadn't really been too bad except for the last few days when Munya had been too busy with returning to chat over their mirror communicators—when Maddie needed her most.

"Yeah, about that. If you had actually bothered to check your messages you'd know that it's no longer just me and Merlin. I now have three new roommates—and all are in need of some serious training with their magic."

"Ohhh… come on Mads, dish, you know how I need details."

Before Maddie could respond, there was the sound of a throat clearing behind the two girls. "Ahem," said Merlin, "But I'm afraid the details will have to wait because class has officially started."

Even with her dark complexion, Munya still managed a faint blush in her cheeks. Maddie, who was no stranger to being reprimanded by Merlin and was just happy to be in class with her best friend, wasn't bothered in the slightest.

With that settled, Merlin made his to the front of the classroom and stood in front of the chalkboard with his hands clasped neatly behind him. "Welcome to Runes of the Ancient World. In your other classes you may have already encountered runes, and were probably instructed to memorize the ones you needed and be careful to not mix them up, but you weren't told why.

"In this class, you'll learn the mechanics of runes—why one little misplaced line could make the difference between your rune working perfectly and blowing up in your face. Of the importance of knowing exactly what it is you're naming and spelling out when creating a rune. How to link several simple runes together in order to create a more complex one. And perhaps, most importantly, how to write a rune that will perfectly pop a bag of popcorn—a long sought after task that many have searched for, but very few have succeeded at."

The last line got a chuckle out of the class, and Maddie started taking notes, not wanting to miss a second of what Merlin was teaching.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a different part of Malperdy Hall, were Maddie's three roommates gathered in their own magical class—Introduction to Magical Theory taught by Flora, who was busy flying above their heads, herding them all together as they entered the classroom before finally hovering above the desk at the front of the room.

"Welcome everybody to Introduction to Magical Theory. Here you'll be learning about the theory behind magic and how it works. Now, can anyone tell me what magic is?"

A sudden hush fell upon the class and nobody raised a hand.

The lack of hands didn't bother Flora. "Oh come on now, surely there's one brave soul out there willing to venture a guess." When there were still no hands raised, Flora continued. "Very well then, I suppose I'll just have to call on one of you." Her eyes searched the classroom before finally settling on Miguel. "Would you care to venture a guess Mr. Ramierez?"

Miguel would have much rather stayed silent like the rest of the class, but it appeared he didn't have a choice. "Magic is a force?" he ventured.

"Is that a guess or an answer Mr. Ramierez?"

"An answer," replied Miguel, this time a bit more assured in his response. If he thought about it, his magic was a force, one that was out of control most of the time, but he was working on it.

"Very good then Mr. Ramierez. You are partially correct—magic can be defined as a force and certainly behaves similarly to other forces like that of gravity—obeying Newton's laws and what not. However, magic is much more than just a force. Magic is aware, some might even say it's alive in its own way, and therefore has its own unique set of laws and challenges. Now, if everybody would pull out their textbooks in their desks and turn to page five so we can learn the differences between inherited magic and learned magic…"

* * *

The tables in the lunchroom were old and wooden, with names, magical diagrams, and other odds and ends such as a half completed game of tic-tac-toe or the instructions on how to make a soufflé. They were the compilation of twenty years of students eating on them, and a tradition at the Institute.

Something that Maddie found herself explaining to Jack and the others upon their questioning gaze at the tables, having expected pristine surfaces to go along with the clean look of the Institute. They had clearly underestimated the nature of academics. Sure, the tables could have been fixed with a transformation spell or an illusion, but that would have defeated their purpose.

The cafeteria at the Main Hall was large and airy, with windows lining the back wall and an assortment of long tables for huge groups, or single tables for smaller groups laid out in a grid pattern, with the larger tables in the middle. Towards the wall opposite the one with the windows was the lunch line, filled with an assortment of hot and cold foods. The food itself was surprisingly good for cafeteria food, at least to new comers who were unaware that the it was cooked by students attending the cooking school which was taught by Kronk when he wasn't at the restaurant.

Jack, Julie, Miguel, and Maddie were seated at one of the medium-sized tables on the outskirts of the room, along with Munya who found Maddie's new roommates rather amusing.

She was busy pushing around with the broccoli on her plate and eyeing Miguel as he helped himself to some mashed potatoes. "So, magic with electricity, huh? Don't see that kinda magic around here a whole lot, usually nature magic is a lot more nature-y. Did you get it from either of your parents?"

"Something like that," muttered Miguel, not wanting to go into such personal details with a complete stranger.

Realizing that Miguel was not ready to deal with Munya's inquisitive nature, Maddie kicked her under the table, causing Munya to flinch in pain.

"You too, huh?" commented Jack upon seeing Munya's pained expression. "Maddie what is it with you and hurting people for no reason?"

Maddie rolled her eyes at him. "It wasn't for no reason, it was for a perfectly good reason—the both of you were being idiots."

"You're words wound me deeply Mads," replied Munya light-heartedly. "Am I right, Jack?"

"Definitely," agreed Jack, nodding as he threw a French fry into his mouth. "It's like she doesn't know us at all. So Munya, you said you're half genie. Does that mean you're related to the Genie?"

While Munya was tempted to pull a Maddie on Jack, she settled for turning the remaining fries on his plate into a squirming pile of worms, including the one in his hand that was just about to enter his mouth. "Gah!" the worm fell down to the plate where his brethren were waiting, but was quickly frozen into a block of ice with the rest of them thanks to Jack.

"What was that for?"

"That was because of incredibly ignorant your question was. Just because I'm part genie automatically makes me part related to the Genie? Do you know how many genies there are in the world? Okay, so it's not really a whole lot like fairies or Class I animals, but it's still a lot more than for all of us to be related to one another!"

Maddie couldn't help but let a snort of laughter at Munya's rant and Jack's sheepish expression at being dressed down. Munya was usually pretty easy going, but Jack had discovered the one thing that would set her off—making assumptions regarding her genie background. It was a sensitive topic, especially seeing as how there weren't very many of them still around, even with Munya's mother using her first wish to wish all genies who would not use their magic for evil or nefarious free. Maddie was in such good spirits that she even vanished the frozen hunk of worms away into a nearby trash can so the cafeteria workers wouldn't be stuck trying to defrost the mess on his plate.

"So," said Miguel, wanting a change of topic. "How was everyone else's first day? Julie?"

Julie, hadn't said a word so far during lunch, offering a smile here and there at the other's exchanges. There was a time when eating food in such a large space would have been an everyday occurrence, but now it was simply overwhelming. She hadn't been among so many people for months, not to mention eating food like a normal person rather than foraging in the woods.

The truth was, the day was far from over and she was still overwhelmed by it all. The people, the classes, even the buildings themselves—she had seen a doorframe stretch and expand to fit an elephant who was walking upright and straight through it, too busy with its head in a book to notice the doorframe grow and shrink back to normal around him.

"Okay, I guess. It's just different here, having to walk all over to your classes rather than having them all in the same building."

Miguel nodded his head in agreement. "It's true, though I did notice no matter how far away the buildings were, I was never late to class—despite only having five minutes of passing time."

"Oh," said Maddie in understanding. "That's because of the spells. They still haven't quite figured out the magic governing Neverland, but did manage to figure out enough to come up with a spell that stretches time out. It doesn't completely stop time, but it stretches time out enough so you can make it all the way across campus in a manner of minutes."

"Yeah," added Munya, who was back to her light-hearted self. "It's always fun to time yourself while crossing from one side to the other and watch the second hand freeze up. You should try it sometime."

The gong rang, signaling the end of sixth period, and the five scrambled to gather their bags and books while putting their lunch trays on the conveyor belt off to the side that led back to the kitchen.

Miguel followed closely behind Julie. "Where's your next class?"

She slipped the new backpack Maddie had bought for with the other day off her shoulder and unzipped the front pocket, pulling out her schedule. "It says Music Appreciation." Julie frowned at the class, not quite sure what to make of the name or completely ready to go back to making music yet.

Sensing her trepidation, Miguel put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure it'll be fine. If I can get through meditation and mastering my magic without any issue, I'm sure you can do the same with music."

Julie fiddled with her hair and sighed. While she was grateful for his words, she didn't quite agree with them. "Thanks, but I don't think it'll be that easy."

"Anything worth doing seldom is. At least, that's what my Aunt Audrey says."

* * *

If Julie had any doubts about her family's involvement with the Sherman Building, they were quickly quashed upon the sight of the statue in front. The Hall had an identical one of its own in the entrance, one of her famous ancestor, Frank Sherman with his signature fiddle, the same one he had been playing on that fateful night he encountered the fey. When going to her third pppperiod class, which had also been in the same building, Maddie had led them to a side entrance for the Literature wing of the building (one that she was now wishing she had taken instead) meaning she had missed the statue at the Main Entrance.

Miguel's calm words and advice disappeared in an instant, and her nerves returned as her ancestor's legacy weighed heavily on her mind. Her feet stopped short of the wide double doors that were the main entrance to the building, causing a bit of a roadblock on the pavement as others were forced to part around her in order to enter the building.

Her shoulders were bumped several times from those passing her by (including a rhino, who had probably left a bruise on her shoulder), and she started to receive odd looks. Not knowing what else to do, but still not quite ready to enter the building, she found her feet leading her away from the doors and towards the nearby woods that bordered the building to the right. The backside had a huge amphitheater that made Julie a bit envious and wondering what the outside performances must be like, but given that there appeared to be students there already – some rehearsing and others simply enjoying the performances and studying—the woods seemed like a might safer option to be alone. Growing up she had never been one for the outdoors, but now they seemed like a safe haven, the trees beckoning her towards them with their long branches.

Before she could them however, there was a tap on her shoulder causing her to jump in surprise.

"Sorry to startle you, but I'm pretty sure your next class is not in the woods, and I should know since I'm your teacher."

The owner of the voice was a tall, middle-aged woman. Her brown hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail on top of her head and she was wearing a light blue dress that was enchanted to look like ocean waves rippling on it. She was also holding out a hand for Julie to shake, causing her to blush in embarrassment out of being caught by her teacher attempting to skip on her first day, and by the fact Julie had been more absorbed in the dress she was wearing than the hand she was sticking out to shake.

"Hi, I'm Julie," she said shyly and feeling like an idiot as soon as she said her name. If the teacher could recognize her and knew her schedule, then she probably already knew Julie's first name.

The woman either hadn't noticed, or was pretending not to notice, and shook Julie's hand. "I'm Aquata and I'll be your teacher for the next semester. Merlin said you might be nervous about being around music again—not that I blame you, I more than understand it's hard to be around something that can cause you so many painful memories—but music is such a rich part of our history—and yours specifically—it'd be wrong to give it up completely and ignore all the good memories it brought you."

Julie mulled over her words. Aquata did have a point about ignoring all the good memories she had of music, but still…

Seeing the hesitation on Julie's face, Aquata said, "Music appreciation is just that, appreciating music. The different types and sounds, the history and evolution of music, and even the impact its had on culture. I won't lie, the Sherman Family is brought up a few times, but you won't have to say anything, and you won't be forced to pick up an instrument if you don't want too—though I do think letting musical talent go to waste is a shame."

"Okay," replied Julie quietly. "I guess it could be interesting in learning the history of music from another perspective, and the stuff on my family. I didn't even know about their involvement here until today."

"Fantastic!" said Aquata as she clapped her hands together. "Come on, the time spell on the campus should be strong enough to make sure we're not late to the class—I wish it had been around when I was younger and your age. Oh, and don't mind the band director, Louis—he's a gator, but he won't hurt you. Also…."

Aquata started to lead her back towards the building and through a small side door on the side, continuing on about Louis, and Sebastian the orchestra director (who was also an old acquaintance of hers, and was rather small), and other teachers in the building including herself (Aquata was also the choir director and in charge of the school musical each fall), where the bathrooms where, and half a dozen other details that Julie had difficulty remembering.

And as Julie walked through the Sherman Fine Arts Building taking in the architecture and music that filled its hallways, for one brief moment, Julie felt something inside of her that she hadn't felt in a while, and thought she'd never feel again—she felt at home.

Later that night, before dinner, Miguel checked in with her and Julie found herself honestly admitting she was looking forward to the next class

* * *

Jack couldn't help but stare at his gym teacher, knowing full well the scolding his parents and older sister would give him for doing so. In his defense it was so hard not to. He had thought that the novelty of Class I creatures in Avalon had started to wear off, but he was wrong. His teacher was not only a Class I, but a legend as well.

Standing before him on two goat legs was the satyr known as Phil, the very same one who had trained Hercules.

Jack had never met the guy, but he knew his parents had since he was the representative of the Grecian state, and his mother and him apparently bonded over their lack of control issues when they were younger if the stories his father told were true.

Of course, Hercules was more than just a representative with inhuman strength, he was also the son of two gods as well. Not much was heard out of the Greek gods nowadays since they mainly kept themselves limited to the Grecian state (which, was still free from the spread of Christianity that was prevalent in the European states thanks to numerous treaties that had been signed twenty years ago that Jack really didn't know all the details of or care about other than it prevented religious wars from breaking out).

Phil was a legend in his own right just as much as Hercules, so what he was doing here rather than say at Auradon training a bunch of future heroes, Jack didn't know (okay, it might have something to do with him also being a satyr who had a bit of a reputation with nymphs and dryads, creatures that probably couldn't be found at Auradon Prep).

Whereas before seeing PE on his schedule had seemed boring, it was now promising to be his new favorite class especially once Phil started to speak.

"Alright, listen up, because I'm only to say this once," he said from his spot on the gymnasium floor, to the class who were scattered around the bleachers. "You have two options in passing this class. You can either stick to the regular class and do the normal activities—weight lifting, jousting, archery, horseback riding with Class III's—you need permission from Class IIs should you wish to ride them—swimming, and well, you get the idea. Or—"

Jack perked up at the 'or' part. So far the other activities were those he could do at home, and noticed that others around him had straightened up as well.

"Or you can put yourselves in groups of four and compete in the Goalball League. For those of you who've been here before you know the drill. The first week of classes you'll be playing in pre-selected groups to test your skills and scout out members. The rest of the semester is spent training and doing practice games, with the Championship starting up next semester with the Championship game scheduled for the third week of May. Let's all give a round of applause for our current champions—"

Phil paused here, covering his ears as the gym broke into an uproar and four figures who were seated below Jack on the first row stood up and waved to the group.

"Alright, alright, settle down, don't get too excited. If you win at the school level you then get to go to the big leagues, the Avalon Championship which is held on the Summer Solstice. It's a lot of work and effort, so those of you who are delicate little flowers should stick to the regular track. If you enjoy a challenge and getting your butt kicked, along with the occasional hint of danger, join me outside on the Field. The rest of you can stay inside and do laps around the gym for the rest of day."

Jack had no idea what Goalball was, but he was going to find out.

* * *

Goalball as it turns out was Avalon's answer to Tourney, albeit with a lot less rules and regulation. Jack had snickered at being told by a classmate (a bear actually, named Teddy) that the entire point was a team to manage to make a goal on the other team's side, and as soon as one was made the game was over. He was promptly told that it was harder than it sounded, and the longest game on record was for 128 days, 19 hours and 37 minutes.

That caused his snickering to stop instantly.

Goalball only had three rules—all gameplay must take place within the boundaries of the field in all three dimensions, no players or spectators were to be seriously or permanently injured/cursed/mentally or physically altered, and game play had to last for at least five minutes (the latter rule being added after the shortest game on record, merely five seconds, occurred when a player simply teleported to the other side of the field ending the game). Each team was given five minutes before game play started to come up with a strategy and implement any defensive spells or traps against the other teams with a silencing spell around them to prevent eavesdropping.

Other than that, anything was fair game in Goalball. Magic, weapons—as long as the three rules weren't broken, each team could do whatever they wanted to make a goal in the other team's net.

It sounded so simple at first, but then Jack's classmate, Teddy—the bear who had told him of the longest game on record—started to go on about how in the Championship game field conditions could be changed at a moments notice from hail and freezing rain weather conditions, to changing the gravity conditions of the field, or turning it into a vast ocean or a field of lava. And that wasn't even going into what the teams could do to the field depending if they were choosing a more offensive or defensive strategy—besides the field they could also magically alter the ball, or even their own net making it harder for the other team to score.

The entire game sounded fascinating and Jack's palms were practically itching to get started making ice and winning a game of Goalball. Finally, a chance to use his magic without having to worry about being scolded by his parents for doing so in public or causing an international incident. Helga and Sonja would be so jealous once he wrote home and told them about finding a new use for his powers.

Jack had originally been concerned about getting a chance to practice seeing as how there was one field, but it was quickly divided into four smaller fields, with two teams of four on each side. It took a while splitting people into teams (some consisted of members who had been together in years past, others considered of a pair of players who refused to split up, and there were a few single new players like Jack), though it did allow time for Teddy to explain Goalball to him.

Eventually Jack found himself on a team with Teddy, a small female mouse, and what appeared to be an alien—due to the four spotted arms Jack was pretty sure they couldn't be a magical creature.

Across from him was a team consisting of a fairy, an elephant, another alien looking creature, and a pretty-looking female fox.

"That's Rowan, Robin Hood's daughter," whispered Teddy. "Watch out for her, she has her mother's beauty, her father's brains, and a thirst for revenge—her team made it to the school semi-finals last year before losing."

The tiny mouse, who was perched on Teddy's shoulder added, a bit enviously, "I heard that she spent her summer in Zootopia—her father has family there."

The alien on Jack's team didn't have an opinion on Rowan, or her team members, choosing to go straight for strategy as their five minute planning period started.

It (Jack wasn't sure if the alien was a he, she, or another gender entirely, so it seemed like the safer option at this point) turned its three eyes on Jack and the others, sizing them up. "What are your skills? My skin is impervious to magic, and I have my alien tech. Mouse?"

The mouse's nose twitched before answering, and to Jack's surprise, not in a high-pitched voice. "I'm fast and small—I can move about the other team without them noticing me. My mind is quick as well, I can notice small details that others might miss."

"Good," nodded the alien, "Perfect for espionage and sabotage. Bear?"

"I'm strong, and have sharp teeth and claws. I can take direct physical hits and act as a shield for other members—I've been on a team with Enola before."

"So you're our tank then. What about you, Human?"

It took a second for Jack's brain to process that the alien was talking to him, and ignore how the word 'human' sounded like an insult when the alien spoke. "How about a demonstration?" asked Jack, and casually created a snowball in his left hand before vanishing it from sight.

Only Teddy seemed impressed by the display. Enola muttered something under her breath about being right about magic but wrong about what kind, and the alien smirked. "Magic user, eh? You can take on the fairy then."

"Wrong," said Enola. "They'll be expecting that—going by the perspiration on her forehead, she's already deduced Jack's abilities due to his foolish display earlier, and added heating spells around herself and the field. It'd be better for you to go after her with your impervious to magic—they won't be expecting that, figuring you'd go after the other alien. The human—"

"Jack, the human's name is Jack," muttered Jack under his breath. In hindsight showing off his powers may not have been the smartest thing and caused him to lose the element of surprise, but was calling him human and foolish really necessary?

"Fine then, Jack," said Enola, her sensitive ears picking up on Jack's muttering, "should go after Rowan—she'll be their lead player with the ball, but won't get too far with a frozen tail and paws. Teddy can be our lead with the ball once we get it since he's a tank, and I'll be busy running interference. Questions?"

The only problem Jack had with the plan was being referred to as 'human', and his mutterings had already corrected it. The alien seemed a bit miffed over being replaced as the de facto leader, but couldn't come up with any faults in Enola's plan, and Teddy seemed used to Enola being in charge.

All in agreement, they started to work out the fine nuances of their plan—ideas for distract the other team and at Enola's suggestion, several red herrings to keep them guessing, as well as choosing a defensive strategy since the main goal for the day was to be scouted by other team members, and going on the defensive would give all four members a chance to shine and impress others. There was no talk of the four making up their own team—the alien made it clear it was looking for more powerful team members than a mouse and a bear, despite their skill sets, and didn't want to risk its chance at advancement on a newbie magic user like Jack (Jack had to remind himself that icing his own team member before the game even started would not be the best way to make a good impression).

When the five minutes was over—all five of which seemed entirely too short—a loud gong noise filled the air, and a ball suddenly appeared on the halfway line on the field. Keeping with their plan, they didn't rush to the ball, allowing Rowan, as expected to snatch it up in her paws and start running on the field towards them.

After that was chaos. The fairy took to the air—though not to far Jack noted, and wondered what exactly the boundary was in each direction, something he probably should have asked Teddy when he had the chance, but it was too late now—the elephant began to charge at them in order to distract them from Rowan, and the alien started shooting—hopefully non-lethal beams—their way.

Teddy began to charge in the direction of the elephant, who if fully grown might have posed more of a problem for Teddy—while Jack's alien started aiming for the fairy inn the sky, and Enola was who knows where.

Jack leapt into action, and started aim blasts of ice and snow in the fox's direction. Nimbly she sidestepped them, and they landed harmlessly on the ground behind her. She shot what appeared to be predatory grin on her face. "Hah, I was right! Babar thought you'd go after Zinnia, but he underestimated Enola's cunning. Well do try to keep up ice boy." She then launched herself over his head, landing deftly on her feet behind him.

You're not getting away that easily, thought Jack and immediately turned around to follow. Barely a step forward, and Jack found himself tripping into a giant hole—courtesy of the alien if its snickering was anything to go by.

Rather than waste time attempting to climb up the hole's steep sides, he created a spiral staircase out if ice running up it slowly, and created an ice shield in case the alien planned attacking once more as soon as Jack reemerged from the hole.

It was for naught though. Its' weapons were sparking and fizzing out, and a flash of brown down his leg left no doubt in Jack's mind as to who was responsible. Looking around the field, Jack's alien team member was shooting at the fairy while dodging blasts of her magic, and the elephant was no longer on the field. Instead he was off on the sidelines and appeared to be nursing a hurt leg.

Teddy meanwhile was trying his best to guard their net from Rowan, but he appeared to be tiring out due to his heavy panting. He may have been larger and stronger than Rowan, but she was more agile, and was using his size against him, changing direction at the last second, which Teddy was unable to do so easily.

Time to make this an even playing field then.

A blast of ice to the back caused Rowan to falter, and another one to the ground caused Rowan's feet to slip out from under her. Not wasting a moment, Teddy fell down on all fours, and snatched up the ball that had fallen from her hands in the process, in his mouth. He then started to barrel down the field to the opposite side, the time for their defensive strategy at an end.

The fairy turned her attention away from the alien and towards Teddy, who also had Rowan following close behind, on all four paws as well, not letting the slippery terrain slow her down for more than a few seconds.

A few blasts of fairy magic were sent Teddy's way, causing him to be knocked for the side and dropping the ball. Rowan and the fairy were the closest, and both made a move to retrieve it. Not wanting to lose the ball, Jack held out his hands in the air.

A blizzard started to cover the field, leaving only one small gap free of snow and ice—a path that led Teddy straight to the net on the other side. Heating spells may have protected the fairy's wings from ice forming on them and weighing her down, but they couldn't protect her from the severe cross wind, or the blinding snow making it near impossible to see where she was flying. Rowan had gotten buried beneath a pile of snow, unable to see the ball or the rest of the field.

A smile started to form on Jack's face, they had this in the bag, they were going to win because of him. He wondered how many team offers he'd have to turn down once the game was over.

The shrill sound of a whistle broke Jack out of his daydreams. "DISQUALIFIED!"

The blizzard died instantly, not because Jack wanted it to, but because of the shock he was in. Phil was off on the sidelines—near the elephant who was still tending to his leg—and he did not look happy.

Not that Jack was either.

"What do you mean disqualified?!" demanded Jack as he marched over to the satyr. "The fox and fairy might be a little cold, but they aren't seriously harmed."

One of the first lessons his mother had taught him and his sisters in regards to their magic was to know when to stop in regards to human limits. Just because they might not be affected by the cold, didn't mean others weren't, so they had to know how cold was too cold and how much snow and ice was too much for others. Despite what Merlin thought, he did know some things about how to control his magic.

"Kid, that's not the rule I'm talking about—look around you."

Jack did so, and realized what rule Phil was referring to. The blizzard may have been confined to the field, but there was still a slight layer of frost on the grass surrounding them, along with trees in the distance. He could make out small breathes of air coming from the team members on the other fields, and the elephant—Babar—was on the sidelines was shivering.

"Oops," he said sheepishly, running his right hand through his white-blonde hair, not knowing what else to do.

"Oops, doesn't even begin to cover it kid," replied Phil and crossed his arms with a scowl on his face.

A small tan head peeked out from beneath a pile of snow. Enola appeared to be too cold to say much of anything, though she did glare in Jack's direction while Teddy picked her up and proceed to let her nuzzle in his fur in an attempt to warm up.

Jack opened his mouth to apologize, but didn't know how. Phil's mouth then appeared to go as dry as Jack's. "Winnie—"

Turning around, Jack saw the source—standing behind him was a short, cranky-looking lady who looked old enough to be his grandmother.

"Do I look like a yellow bear with a honey addiction to you?" she snarked in a low gravely voice. "Just because you decided to shorten your name didn't mean the rest of us did too, it's Winifred to you. Idjit. Speaking of idjits, which one of yours decided it'd be a good idea to create a frost in August? Don't try to deny it, I felt it over by the greenhouses and traced it over here. Well?"

Phil merely pointed at Jack, apparently cowed by the woman, though Jack wasn't sure why. She was short—coming up to his chin, and her dark brown hair was streaked with gray, with crow's feet forming in the corner's of her eyes. She was dressed in loose pants and a shirt that had spots of dirt scattered about. Despite her diminutive statue, her eyes had a fierce look in them, and she seemed rather imposing with her arms folded as she tapped her left foot—which was barefoot, the same as the right—impatiently.

"Er, sorry, I got carried away I guess," shrugged Jack. He didn't see what the big deal was, everybody would be fine once they warmed up, and so would some plants.

"Carried away? Are you or are you not one of Merlin's new students? Did he teach you nothing about meditating and controlling your magic?"

"Well yeah, but it's only been like a day, well, less of a day really—"

Winnie interrupted him, not letting him get very far, and raised an eyebrow. "Let me great this straight, the great bearded one thought signing you up for Goalball despite having no formal training was a good idea. Tch, idjit."

"I've had training—" protested Jack.

"From the queen who nearly starved her kingdom when she decided to 'let it go'. Don't give me that look boy, there's only one family you could have come from with magic like that."

Jack had been scolded before about his use of magic, which he was used to and fine with. What he wasn't fine with were people going after his mother and her use of magic (or any of his family members really), especially after everything she had went through when she was younger because of it. That was not permissible.

"I HAVE CONTROL!"

If Phil's wincing and covering of his ears were anything to go by, along with the crowed that was starting to form around him, the words had come out louder than he intended.

"Oh really? Then why are there icicles shooting out of the ground? Clearly you don't have control you think you do, idjit. From now on you report to me during this hour and will do so until I'm confident you're not a threat to the plants."

She then turned around on the balls of her feet, ignoring the icicles that had sprouted magically from the ground—and were quickly retreating once Jack realized what he had done and got his temper back under control—not even waiting for Jack's response.

Finally, after nobody said anything, he turned to Phil. "Can she really do that?"

"Kid, she just did."

* * *

Miguel stared at this schedule intently, as if at any moment new information would appear about his new class. Maddie has said something about the stove working due to magical mechanics, but he hadn't asked many questions at the time. Now he wished he had.

The class was located in a room with several large tables taking up the majority of the space with stools around them. On the walls were diagrams, schematics, and tools such as wrenches, screwdrivers and hammers—ones that Miguel could use without his pesky little problem flaring up. There were also instruments and tools that Miguel didn't know, and from their unnatural soft glow was going to guess weren't electric based—apparently this was the part where magic entered the mechanical side of things.

The table he sat down at was initially empty, but eventually a blonde hair girl sat down opposite to him, pulling out a notebook that was covered in colorful doodles and presumably doing the same to the inside. She gave him a polite smile before doing so, but judging by her face she was quickly lost in her own little world.

Also joining them was an older boy who reminded him a bit of the half-genie girl—Munya if he remembered correctly—who had sat with them at lunch. He proceeded to pull out a book and quickly became as lost in them as the girl was in her doodles.

That worked just fine for Miguel, he wasn't that big of a talker anyway, instead preferring to stick to the background where his problem couldn't cause that many issues. Taking the other seat at the table, and the last arrival of the class, was a dark-skinned girl with sandy hair that was pulled back, and what appeared to be small blue tattoos underneath her eyes. She and the older boy exchanged surprised looks of recognition, before the boy returned his attention back to his notes.

Miguel, figuring it was rude to stare at the display, swiveled his head around looking at the rest of his new classmates, not all of which were human. His Aunt Audrey would be happy to know that about a third of the class was made up of girls—while a female mechanic was no longer quite the rarity it was, getting girls interested in STEM subjects was still hard since a fair number of the population were still stuck in the belief that girls should be mothers and wives rather than scientists and engineers.

His teacher was female and humanoid—at least she looked humanoid, strolling into the classroom just as the gong sound from earlier rang, signaling it was time for class to begin. Her dark red hair was cut short and hidden by a bandana tied on the top of her head, and if she hadn't positioned herself at the front of the room facing the class, Miguel might have mistaken her for another student due to her quirky graphic t-shirt, pair of jeans, and youthful appearance (she looked older than Miguel, but not by more than ten years).

A flash of light caught Miguel's eyes as a bracelet reflected the lighting in the room at just the right angle as she picked up a piece of chalk and began to write on the board, 'Magical Mechanics'.

Satisfied, she turned back around, facing the class. "As you can see on the board, welcome to Magical Mechanics. If this is the class you're looking for congrats, if not, the door is that way or you can stick around if you want.

"I answer to 'hey you', 'teach', and 'Rosie'. Call me 'Ms. Red' and you'll find yourself in trouble of flunking this class, which is an extremely hard thing to do— and that's including the time a student's project took out a wall.

"The first month will be review—two weeks on science and two weeks on magic."

She paused as a loud groan filled the room (including one from the boy at his table), and held up her hands in an attempt to quiet the students.

"I know there are some old timers in here, but there are newbies too who don't deserve to be thrown into the deep end without some floaties first. There's also plenty of you who've probably forgotten material over the summer, so don't pretend otherwise. If you think review isn't for you, then feel free to do other work or sleep in the class—as long as you don't disturb the rest of us, I don't care. Beware though, if you have issue with the material later on because you thought you already knew it, don't come crying to me about it.

"As I was saying two weeks on the sciences starting with simple machines, statics, dynamics, thermodynamics, magnetics, and circuits. Then two weeks on the magical side of things—runes, wards, spellcasting, and potions. Remember, these classes do not replace those, just act as crash courses for those who haven't had them yet.

"You'll then spend the rest of the semester in groups working on a project—be it one of your own choosing, or one of mine and all must meet my approval. Over the next month you'll be working in different groups on mini projects at the end of each week—first a catapult, then a five step Rube Goldberg machine without any magical aid for the first two weeks, and with magical aid for the last two weeks. Each project you'll be working with new people to get to know who you'll work well with. At the end of the month you can pick your final groups—though I do get final say and can move people around if I want. Each group must have at least one magical and non-magical being per group."

Miguel had been writing down notes as she began, and was grateful he had thought to do so for he didn't know if he could have remembered everything she said. He appreciated the crash courses— he already had a lot of background knowledge when it came to the science side, even circuits (just because he wasn't allowed to interact with them didn't mean he didn't understand how they worked), but would definitely need the magical crash course.

The projects sounded interesting as well, and his mind was already trying to come up with ideas. Who knew, maybe he could even impress his Aunt Audrey and family if he could come up with a device where his pesky little problem could be an advantage rather than a disadvantage.

After taking a break for a drink of water, Rosie continued. "Questions? No? Good. Now, who here can name a simple machine?"

* * *

Dinner was a quiet affair, not unlike the night before. Having remembered to stop by the cafeteria to request food for the week, Miguel had decided to go with something simple—meatloaf since it could last as leftovers for the week with vegetables as sides, and was easy to make.

Merlin finally broke the silence. "So, how was everybody's first day?"

"Okay."

"Fine."

"Meh."

"Long."

Not quite satisfied with four different, but similar one word answers, Merlin decided to focus his attention on Jack.

"I don't suppose your meh day had anything to do with a run in with a certain Winifred Miller, does it?

Jack paled slightly, while Maddie perked up at the name and leaned forward. "What'd you do?"

"Nothing," muttered Jack, pushing the meatloaf around on his plate.

"I wouldn't call losing control of your magic during Goalball practice nothing Jack."

While neither Maddie, Miguel nor Julie had been outside during the incident, they had heard rumors about something happening outside, but hadn't heard the exact details, figuring they'd hear more tomorrow.

"I didn't lose control, I'm not the human night-light over there," he said and pointed to Miguel to his right.

"Jack, I believe that was uncalled for, and Miguel deserves an apology," reprimanded Merlin, his voice taking on a sterner tone than normal.

"It's fine," assured Miguel, who was used to being teased and not wanting things to escalate after having one of his better first days at school.

"See, he said he's—ow!"

Jack started to gingerly rub his knee from where Maddie's foot had made contact. "Seriously, what is with you and all the violence? Go take an anger management class or something."

"Maddie, stop hitting Jack."

"Tell him to stop being an insensitive jerk and spoiled prince," retorted Maddie.

"Oh yeah, well—"

"Enough!"

Both Maddie and Jack stop their squabbling instantly, neither willing to push Merlin further. While he hadn't used any magic yet to break them up, there was no guarantee he wouldn't resort to such measures in the future.

"Now as I was saying," said Merlin, this time in a much lower and softer tone than before, "after talking to Winifred, I must say she has a point. You'll spend the rest of your semester during seventh period with her learning better control, and making up for the damage you harm you caused her plants today."

Jack nearly choked on his last piece of meatloaf at the news. "Wha-a-at? Just because I accidentally went beyond the field boundaries I have to spend the rest of the year with a little old lady helping her water her begonias?"

Maddie (barely) stops from spitting out her gulp of milk at the words, and Jack eyed her suspiciously, wondering what he was missing out on.

A sharp look from Merlin discouraged either of them from starting anything up again, before he proceeded to elaborate. "Winifred is more than simply a little old lady who waters begonias, Jack. She has plant magic and oversees the greenhouses on campus—including the carrots that are currently on your plate—"

A clattering noise filled the air as Jack dropped his fork with several speared carrots on it as if it had just grown an extra head. Merlin paid it no mind. "—and was instrumental in helping your mother recover as much as Arendelle's crops as possible from her frozen summer. Crops may have been leaner than usual that year, but nobody starved and Arendelle didn't deplete its treasury by trying to buy up crops from countries who might have charged unjustly in an attempt to take advantage of the situation."

Jack had never thought about the crops or plants in Arendelle that might have been affected by his mother's frozen summer before, never stopping for a second to think of any of the negatives when they had been so many positive outcomes (his mother coming to terms with her magic, Arendelle opening back up again, his Aunt Anna and Uncle Kristoff meeting, the events that led to his parents meeting, adding Olaf and Sven to their family just to name a few).

Maddied nodded along. "And she's one of the few gardeners in the world who's had any success in growing Wonderland plants outside of Wonderland."

"Exactly," agreed Merlin. "She's also capable of giving you the strict magical discipline that you so desperately need."

"Do not," grumbled Jack.

Maddie looked as if she wanted to say something. Deciding that a change of topic was needed he asked, "So, what is Goalball?"

He and Julie then spent the next hour listening to Jack go on with enthusiasm about his newly discovered sport, Maddie then adding in her own commentary and talking about past championship games and famous players, and Merlin then adding in his own commentary on the origins of the game and the prospects for the upcoming season.

By the end of it, Miguel found himself wishing he had chosen a different topic.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Below are additional notes on OCs and including more background information on some that will probably never make it into the actual story.
> 
> Christopher Robin and Mowgli: Head canon is that their stories happened recently. The Hundred Acre Woods are a part of the Reserve and leaking magic brought his toys that he would leave outside to life. Mowgli ended up being adopted by Tarzan and Jane.
> 
> Munya Evans and parents: Munya was inspired by the idea that there had to be more genies in the Disney universe besides Genie, and wondering why Aladdin didn't wish ALL genies of benevolent nature free (to avoid freeing ones of Jafar's nature).
> 
> Munya's mother, Angelica grew up in a middle class household and was taught to have a good work ethic. When she came across a genie's bottle she didn't want to make any wishes because she viewed it as a form of 'cheating'. This drove Munya's father, Farid, crazy, since he was used to bad masters and was a 'be careful what you wish for genie' and was just waiting to screw up a wish. Eventually Angelica wished him, and all other genies who wouldn't destroy/try to overtake the world/not cause serious harm to others free.
> 
> Not knowing what to do with freedom, Farid sticks around Angelica. Angelica goes on to be a lawyer. Her first big case is defending Farid who gets himself in trouble when he curses a waiter in a restaurant who wouldn't leave Angelica alone. She establishes that when the Enchantress cursed Prince Adam and his servants without facing any legal repercussions (though that was more due to the fact nobody wanted to arrest/prosecute a powerful enchantress) she set a precedence for 'what goes around comes around' or karmic justice. In essence, it was another form of self-defense aimed at those who without magical intervention might go on to commit more serious crimes in the future. Farid still goes around dosing karmic justice, but is now more careful about it. She also defends The Three Billy Goats Gruff in their case, saw to it that Jack the Nimble received a reduce sentence and treatment for his pyromania after his candle stick jumping burned his neighbor's house down, and defended The Three Bears. they spent the summer with their family in Atlantis.
> 
> Inherited magic is when magic is inherited through a family line/specie class. Inherited magic can be more powerful, more specialized, and more dangerous than learned magic. Learned magic is performed by using artifacts of power (staffs, wands, amulets). Anybody is capable of learning magic, though some may have more aptitude and talent for it than others.
> 
> Aquata: When the Institute was forming, a mermaid expert was wanted. Ariel was too busy with her own duties, so Triton asked one of his other daughters to volunteer. Aquata has lived in Avalon ever since, though she does have monthly visits with her family under the sea. Events occurring in The Little Mermaid III are referenced.
> 
> Goalball: Avalon's answer to Tourney but with magic. Phil still keeps in touch with Hercules and Meg in Greece Every year they come to the championship game (both have competed in prior years).
> 
> Rowan Hood: Robin's Hood daughter and distant relative to Nick Wild.
> 
> Enola and Teddy: Enola is related to Basil/Sherlock Holmes and Teddy, aka Baby Bear, is her Dawson/Watson. They met on what Dawson calls, 'The Poison in the Porridge' case. Upon returning from a walk while their porridge cooled, the three bears found Goldilocks passed out in their bed. Not able to stir her they called the authorities who rushed her to the hospital where it was discovered she had been poisoned—which was found in the 'just right' bowl. Mama and Papa Bear insist they're innocent and Angelica Evans contacts Basil. Enola joins Basil on the case, due to Basil's assumption she might be able to get Teddy to open up (up to that point he had barely spoken a word to any investigators).
> 
> Basil figures out the poison was actually intended for somebody else. The Bear's neighbor, a Mrs. Wolf (mother of the Big Bad Wolf along with a relation of the Wolf in Pinocchio) knew the Bears always left their house for a half hour on Sundays while their weekly porridge cooled. After her son was released due to his actions regarding Three Little Pigs, he went after Little Red Riding Hood and was killed. In retaliation, she sent Little Red Riding Hood a letter inviting her over for porridge. Due to a slight mix up, the letter was opened by Goldilocks instead—Red's roommate, who was a bit older and bigger than Little Red Riding Hood, hence the poison not completely killing her.
> 
> The Three Bears are released from custody, Mrs. Wolf confesses, Enola and Teddy start a long friendship, and Little Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks move to Avalon City to get away from any more potential life threatening encounters with animals.

**Author's Note:**

> When I saw Descendants, and was left with so many questions. How did a world that was so medieval, get caught up to our world's technology in twenty years? Ben indicated that nobody used magic anymore, but what if people still did? Surely giving up on magic couldn't have gone down well with Elsa, who had spent the majority of her life learning the 'Conceal, Don't Feel, Don't Let it Show' mantra was wrong, only to be told to do it all over again. Do all the Disney movies exist in the universe? If so, how does that work? Why does nobody freak out about people randomly bursting out into song and dancing?
> 
> Naturally I turned to fanfiction for answers, but found the majority of fics fell into one of three categories: fics that were sequels to the main characters, fics that introduced a new round of villain kids (usually SYOC), and fics that introduced a fifth member to the main four. There's nothing wrong with those fics, and some are really good- but none answered the questions swimming around in my head. So then my brain did the next best thing- come up with its own answers and this story is the result.
> 
> This story is canon with the first movie only and diverges from the second movie, Wicked World series, and other books. The four main characters are OCs, all with ties to canon Disney characters. I realize that Julie has the darkest background out of all of them, but Disney does have some downer beginnings, and the Pied Piper of Hamelin is not a happy story. Disney tried to make it into one, and got Home on the Range as a result. For those interested in Carlos, Mal, Evie, and Jay, they will show up in later chapters, as side characters though. Timeline wise, the first part of the story takes place before the movie, and the last part will take place after the movie.
> 
> Besides the Disney references, which there are a lot of (including the chapter title and Julie's family), there's also references to other fantasy series. I realize Merlin might seem OC by refusing to adapt to the times, but at the end of Sword of the Stone, he did say that the modern world was a mess and could keep their technology. I also think he's the sort who doesn't like being told what to do by others- so tell him not to practice magic any more, and that's all he wants to do. At this point in his life Archimedes has long since passed, and he never had the heart to replace him (though if you asked, he'd just insist he didn't want another bothersome bird about the place).
> 
> This story was originally posted on fanfiction.net.


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